Faculty of Social Scienceshttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/996
Sun, 02 Aug 2015 22:34:33 GMT2015-08-02T22:34:33ZYrkesfag eller organisasjon som rettesnor for kompetanseutvikling?http://hdl.handle.net/1956/10156
Yrkesfag eller organisasjon som rettesnor for kompetanseutvikling?
Olsen, Ole Johnny
Research report
Sat, 01 Jan 1994 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/101561994-01-01T00:00:00ZKvalitet i yrkesutdanningen? Utviklingsbetingelser for en erfaringsbasert yrkespedagogikkhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/10155
Kvalitet i yrkesutdanningen? Utviklingsbetingelser for en erfaringsbasert yrkespedagogikk
Olsen, Ole Johnny
Journal article
Kvalitetsutvikling forutsetter oppfatninger om hva som skal utvikles, og hvordan. Om målet for yrkesutdanningen er faglig kompetente, sjølvstendige og kreative individer, kan utvikling av en erfaringsbasert yrkespedagogikk være et viktig ledd for å oppnå en slik målsetning. Her blir det drøftet noen betingelser for en slik yrkespedagogisk utvikling. Først diskuteres den økte anerkjennelsen av "den praktiske kunnskapens" betydning, deretter spørsmålet om fagopplæringens "renessanse". Avslutningsvis presenteres et samfunnsorientert og yrkessosiologisk perspektiv på forming av yrkespedagogens samlede kvalifikasjoner.
Fri, 01 Jan 1993 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/101551993-01-01T00:00:00ZRusreformen - noen grunnlagsdata om organisering og finansieringhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/10154
Rusreformen - noen grunnlagsdata om organisering og finansiering
Alver, Øyvind; Bretteville-Jensen, Anne Line; Kaarbøe, Oddvar Martin
Research report
This report gives an account of a study of the restructured organization and funding of alcohol and drug abuse treatment after responsibility for their provision was transferred from the county authorities to five Regional Health Authorities (RHF), on January 1, 2004. The report does not evaluate the reform, but it does present key data that subsequent evaluations may find useful.
A review of the assembled data show certain regional differences in approach to the organization of the 32 public and 42 private treatment centres covered by the reform. Only Helse Midt-Norge RHF (the Central
Norway Regional Health Authority) has set up a dedicated Health Authority (HF) for alcohol and drug abuse treatment. The other four incorporate the services under the local Health Authorities covering somatic and psychiatric specialised health services. Relevant documents show that certain Regional Health Authorities that opposed to set up a dedicated Health Authority for alcohol and drug abuse treatment used the same arguments that the Central Norway Regional Health Authority used in favour of it.
The county authorities had basically two types of contracts with privatetreatment centres:
1) a purchase agreement for a specified number of places, and
2) an operating grant agreement.
The reform means that the Regional Health Authorities have taken over the role of the county authorities regarding these contracts, though they are not necessarily consistent regarding contract extensions and/ or renewals. For instance, Helse Øst RHF (Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority) has terminated all current contracts with private treatment centres, and invited tenders for the same standard and volume of services. This has been debated because the Minister of Trade and Industry had temporarily given an exception to this area from procurement regulations for public entities.
A total of NOK 1.423 billion was allocated to the Regional Health Authorities for alcohol and drug treatment in 2004. The allocation formula gave NOK 417 per capita for Helse Øst RHF and NOK 182 for Helse Midt-Norge. Our estimates show that had the formula recommended by the Hagen Commission been adopted, allocations would have looked quite different, with Helse Øst and Helse Sør (Southern Norway Regional Health Authority) conceding funds to the other regions. The money alcohol and drug treatment reform is not ring-fenced, though apart from
minor exceptions, the Regional Health Authorities have redeployed
corresponding sums to the treatment centres. Helse Vest (Western Norway
Regional Health Authority) however, has not made the use of these
transfers publicly available. It is worth noting that accounting procedures
and uncertainty about the precise nature of the documentation Health
Authorities need to submit will probably make it difficult to determine
whether the money is spent on alcohol and drug treatment. The manner in
which expenses for 2002 and 2003 were recorded by the Regional Health
Authorities is insufficient.
Referral procedures for treatment were also affected by the reform. In addition to the social services, the health services now have referral
powers. It was anticipated that the reform would result in a rise in
referrals. We have been in contact with a number of treatment centres
included in the alcohol and drug treatment reform, as well as private
treatment centres without a contract with the Regional Health Authorities.
Although they offer slightly disparate accounts, there appears to have been
a general rise in referrals to the first category, and a drop to the latter.
The reform also affected the incorporation of Norway’s seven resource
centres in the field of alcohol and drug problems. They are at a transitional
stage, their organizational affiliation and funding are expected to be
clarified in 2005.; Hovedvekten i rapporten er lagt på å undersøke hvordan behandlingen for
rusmiddelmisbrukere er organisert og
finansiert etter at de regionale
helseforetakene (RHF) overtok det tidligere fylkeskommunale ansvaret for
rusbehandlingsfeltet 01.01.04. Rapporten er ikke en evaluering av
rusreformen, men vil kunne gi viktige grunnlagsdata til slikt bruk.
Gjennomgang av innsamlede data viser enkelte regionale forskjeller i
organiseringen av de 32 offentlige og
42 private rusbehandlingstiltak som
er omfattet av reformen. Helse Midt-Norge RHF er det eneste av de
regionale foretakene som har opprettet et eget helseforetak (HF) for
rusbehandling (Rusbehandling Midt-Norge HF). Hos de øvrige er
tiltakene stort sett organisert under de
helseforetak de geografisk tilhører.
Relevante dokument i saken viser at
de samme argument som er brukt av
enkelte RHF
mot
opprettelse av eget
rusforetak er brukt av Helse Midt-Norge
for
en slik opprettelse.
Fylkeskommunene hadde to hovedtyper
avtaler med private tiltak; avtale
om oppkjøp av et gitt antall plasser og
avtale om driftstilskudd. Etter
overtakelsen har RHF'ene trådt inn i fylkeskommunenes del av avtalene,
men de har opptrådt ulikt i forhold
til forlengelse/fornyelse av disse.
Helse Øst RHF har eksempelvis sagt
opp alle løpende avtaler med de
private, for så å legge ut et tilsvarende behandlingsomfang for offentlig
anbud. Dette har vakt diskusjon fordi næringsministeren midlertidig
unntok feltet fra anskaffelsesregelverket som gjelder i det offentlige.
Samlet sett har RHF'ene fått overført 1,423 milliarder kroner til
rusbehandling i 2004. Fordelingen mellom de fem regionene medfører at
Helse Øst får 417 per capita mens eksempelvis Helse Midt-Norge får 182
kroner per capita. Dersom Hagen-utvalgets innstilling hadde blitt lagt til
grunn for fordelingen, viser våre
beregninger at dette ville medført
vesentlige forskyvninger mellom regionene. Helse Øst og Helse Sør måtte
da ha gitt fra seg midler til de øvrige regionene. Midlene som ble overført
til de regionale helseforetakene som følge av rusreformen var ikke
øremerkede, men med enkelte unntak
ser det ut til at RHF'ene har
overført tilsvarende beløp til behandlingstiltakene. Helse Vest har
imidlertid unntatt disse overføringene fra offentligheten. Det er verdt å
merke seg at regnskapsrutinene og uklarheten i hva de enkelte
helseforetakene skal rapportere, trolig vil medføre at det vil bli vanskelig å undersøke om pengene
brukes til rusbehandling. Føringen av utgifter til
rus i HF'ene for 2002 og 2003 er mangelfull.
Henvisningsrutinene til behandling for rusmiddelproblemer ble også
endret i rusreformen. Nå kan også helsetjenesten, og ikke bare
sosialtjenesten som tidligere, henvise til slik behandling. Det var forventet
at antall henvisninger ville øke som følge av endringen. Vi har vært i
kontakt med enkelte offentlige og private tiltak, samt private tiltak uten
avtale. Erfaringen fra disse var noe blandet, men med en hovedtendens i
retning av økt antall henvendelser for de to første kategoriene og et
redusert antall henvendelser for sistnevnte kategori.
Landets syv kompetansesentre fikk endret vertstilknytning som følge av
reformen. De står nå i en mellomfase der deres videre
organisasjonsmessige tilknytning og finansiering er under vurdering. Det
er ventet at situasjonen vil bli avklart i løpet av 2005.
Thu, 01 Jan 2004 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/101542004-01-01T00:00:00Z"Nye produksjonskonsepter" og arbeidssosiologiske visjoner. Presentasjon av Kern og Schumann: "Das Ende der Arbeitsteilung?"http://hdl.handle.net/1956/10145
"Nye produksjonskonsepter" og arbeidssosiologiske visjoner. Presentasjon av Kern og Schumann: "Das Ende der Arbeitsteilung?"
Olsen, Ole Johnny
Research report
Fri, 01 Jan 1988 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/101451988-01-01T00:00:00ZUtviklingstrekk ved norsk yrkesutdanning og fagopplæringhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/10144
Utviklingstrekk ved norsk yrkesutdanning og fagopplæring
Olsen, Ole Johnny
Research report
Sun, 01 Jan 1989 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/101441989-01-01T00:00:00ZI forskerutdanningens "jernbur"?http://hdl.handle.net/1956/10143
I forskerutdanningens "jernbur"?
Olsen, Ole Johnny
Journal article
Sat, 01 Jan 1994 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/101431994-01-01T00:00:00ZThe Silences of Dispossession: The Dynamics of Agrarian Change and the Politics of Indigenous People in Chaco, Argentinahttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/10140
The Silences of Dispossession: The Dynamics of Agrarian Change and the Politics of Indigenous People in Chaco, Argentina
Biocca, Maria de las Mercedes Donato
Doctoral thesis
<p>Recent studies of ‘accumulation by dispossession’ have highlighted the link between agrarian changes and the expansion of social capitalist relationships that has occurred in the neoliberal era. However, the high degree of abstraction of these studies and the lack of analysis of the role of the actors involved in these processes, especially the subaltern groups, presents challenges for the analysis of empirical processes (Hart, 2002; 2004; Hall, 2013).</p>
<p>To overcome these limitations this work proposes to analyze processes of agrarian change through an approach centred on the ‘local rationalities’ of the actors involved (Nilsen and Cox, 2013). From that perspective this thesis argues that the positions of the actors in ‘processes of accumulation by dispossession’ can be explained by examining their memories of past experiences, the actual forms of power and dispossession and the position of subalternity of each group in a determined time and place (Li, 2000; Hodgson, 2011).</p>
<p>The focus on local rationalities is applied here to analyze the different perceptions and positions of two indigenous communities in the province of Chaco, Argentina with regard to the expansion of the agribusiness model since the 1990s. This work thus seeks to illuminate the multiple dynamics that exist between subaltern and dominant groups in the different contexts of dispossession. Through analyzing these processes by considering the complex network of power relationships that have been produced, which generate acts of resistance but also complicity, this approach aims to make a contribution that will help to revitalize political readings of new rural dynamics linked to capitalist development.</p>
Fri, 29 May 2015 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/101402015-05-29T00:00:00ZMot helhetlig systemovervåking og faglig polyvalens. Kompetanseprofil og yrkesfaglig basis for driftsoperatører i kraftstasjonerhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/10139
Mot helhetlig systemovervåking og faglig polyvalens. Kompetanseprofil og yrkesfaglig basis for driftsoperatører i kraftstasjoner
Olsen, Ole Johnny
Research report
Thu, 01 Jan 1998 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/101391998-01-01T00:00:00ZThe institutional trajectory of Hamas: From radicalism to pragmatism—and back again?http://hdl.handle.net/1956/10133
The institutional trajectory of Hamas: From radicalism to pragmatism—and back again?
Løvlie, Frode
Doctoral thesis
<p>This thesis explains Hamas’s development, from its modest beginnings to the political force it is today, by analyzing it as a case of party institutionalization. The analytical framework, based on elements from the literature on social movements and political parties, distinguishes between institutionalization as a process and a property variable. By investigating its ideological and organizational development, the processual element interrogates the institutional trajectory of Hamas, from a militant movement toward a political party. The property element, by contrast, estimates the degree to which Hamas was institutionalized at various historical junctures. The thesis combines the interpretative case study method with within-case, longitudinal comparisons, and relies on interview data, secondary sources, and opinion polls. By referencing suitable theories and grounding the analysis within sound methodological frameworks, the thesis aims to avoid essentializing Hamas, thus contributing with an improved understanding of its development.</p>
<p>The thesis finds that Hamas largely developed as hypothesized, i.e., moderating ideologically and routinizing organizationally, while becoming increasingly valued as an end in itself. From its establishment as a religiously motivated liberation movement set on erecting an Islamic state in the whole of historic Palestine, Hamas limited its territorial claims and softened its focus on religion. Organizationally, Hamas expanded and routinized by easing its recruitment requirements and instituting legitimate decision-making procedures. In short, Hamas developed away from the ideological rigidity and operational logic of a movement organization toward the pragmatism of an institutionalized political party. By 2011, however, Hamas had developed into an awkward but somewhat institutionalized organizational state between that of a liberation movement, a governing party, and a party-statelet. This mixing of roles is explained by the unresolved nature of the Israel-Palestine conflict, which makes it difficult for Hamas to discard its identity as a liberation movement, and by Hamas’s roots as a religious liberation movement, a legacy that counteracts both pragmatism and moderation. Yet, Hamas’s awkward organizational state does not detract from the explanatory power of the applied theories or the relevance of the findings, as the thesis offers a de-exoticized and nuanced account of Hamas’s development. The thesis concludes that through the course of its institutional trajectory, Hamas has institutionalized sufficiently to remain a key political player both in domestic Palestinian politics and as part of the Israel-Palestine conflict.</p>
Fri, 06 Mar 2015 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/101332015-03-06T00:00:00ZAffordances in Mobile Augmented Reality Applicationshttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/10132
Affordances in Mobile Augmented Reality Applications
Gjøsæter, Tor
Journal article
This paper explores the affordances of augmented reality content in a mobile augmented reality application. A user study was conducted by performing a multi-camera video recording of seven think aloud sessions. The think aloud sessions consisted of individual users performing tasks, exploring and experiencing a mobile augmented reality (MAR) application we developed for the iOS platform named ARad. We discuss the instrumental affordances we observed when users interacted with augmented reality content, as well as more complex affordances rising from conventions from media content, AR and the traditional WIMP paradigm. We find that remediation of traditional newspaper content through the MAR medium can provide engaging, pleasing and exciting user experiences. However, the some of the content still suffers from being shoveled onto the MAR platform without adapting it properly. Finally, we discuss what content was most successfully mediated to the user and how the content impacts the user experience.
Wed, 01 Jan 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/101322014-01-01T00:00:00ZInteraction with mobile augmented reality: An exploratory study using design research to investigate mobile and handheld augmented realityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/10131
Interaction with mobile augmented reality: An exploratory study using design research to investigate mobile and handheld augmented reality
Gjøsæter, Tor
Doctoral thesis
<p>Mobile augmented reality (MAR) has matured significantly over the last two decades,
from the conceptual idea of an untethered handheld augmented reality experience in
the mid-90s, to prototype technological demonstrations in the early 00s, to actual
practical applications in use on smartphones everywhere today. Until recently, the
field has been concerned with solving important technical obstacles particular to
augmented reality (AR) systems, as well creating systems to augment the world in
usable and entertaining ways.</p><p>
To further the understanding of MAR specifically, the concept needs to be seen in its
own context through a clear conceptual model and an exploration of how the
underlying technology supports the interplay between user and device. MAR systems
provide an entirely new point of entry to content such images, videos and 3D
information, both in a physical and a technological sense. What content is suitable for
this interactive platform and how does the creation of meaning take place in this
context?</p><p> To investigate this type of technology, the specific traits of the system need to be
taken into account when gathering data. Similarly, the dissemination of findings
about this very visual platform requires a visual language to effectively convey
meaning. There are few general design guidelines for MAR that are founded on
human computer interaction (HCI) theory and empirical data. Thus, additional
domain-specific guidelines must be composed for those designing MAR systems.</p><p>
<p>To approach these issues, this thesis has adopted the design science research (DSR)
framework, which provides a set of guidelines for conducting science and research on
designed artifacts. This framework also has a strong focus on solving real-world
problems and acknowledges artifacts as contributions in themselves. Its guidelines
have been used to formulate the problem statements, directing the research design
and evaluation as well as the dissemination of findings and results. In conjunction
with the overarching guidelines, Think-Aloud (THA) and video recording have been used for evaluation, while user-centered design has served as a foundation specifying
the design of the artifacts. A qualitative analysis of the findings has been performed
based on theories from HCI.</p><p>
The result of this work is a tangible application that is freely available on the App
Store for iOS. Additionally, we present a conceptual model describing handheld
mobile augmented reality and an approach to using THA and video recording for
evaluation and analysis of MAR systems. A novel approach for illustrative
dissemination of findings using the empirical data is described, and general guidelines for MAR systems are presented. Finally, this thesis serves as a guide for
conducting similar design science research on AR technology.</p><p>
The contribution of these results is a further understanding of the conceptualization,
design, evaluation and dissemination of MAR.</p>
Tue, 02 Jun 2015 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/101312015-06-02T00:00:00ZEt folk uten stat bygger opp en rettsstat. Hvor uavhengige er domstolene i irakisk Kurdistan?http://hdl.handle.net/1956/10124
Et folk uten stat bygger opp en rettsstat. Hvor uavhengige er domstolene i irakisk Kurdistan?
Khadir Mohammad, Sara
Master thesis
Går det an å bygge opp en rettstat i et land som er i konflikt? Irak har i flere årtier vært mest kjent for krig, vold og terrorisme. Det er mindre kjent internasjonalt at midt i en situasjon av krig og kaos har kurderne i irakisk Kurdistan forsøkt - til dels med hell - å etablere en sivil administrasjon og sentrale demokratiske institusjoner som et ledd i en større stats- og nasjonsbyggingsprosess. En av ambisjonene har vært å etablere uavhengige domstoler. I analysen min av domstolene i irakisk Kurdistan i perioden fra 1991 til 2015 prøver jeg å svare på to hovedspørsmål: 1. Hvorfor og hvordan har kurdere i irakisk Kurdistan klart å etablere sitt eget rettssystem når de ikke ennå har en egen stat? 2. Hvor uavhengige er domstolene? Oppgaven min bygger på en kombinasjon av sekundærlitteratur og intervjudata innsamlet i to byer i irakisk Kurdistan (Sulaymaniya og Erbil) i to ulike perioder i 2014. Mange av mine informanter ønsket ikke å stå frem med fullt navn og ville ikke fortelle detaljer om situasjonen der de jobbet fordi de var redd for å miste jobben. Noen av informantene mine utrykte også bekymring for at denne studien skulle gi et ufint eller ødeleggende bilde av «det kurdiske prosjektet», nemlig nasjonsbyggingsprosjektet, til utenlandske akademiske miljøer. Likevel bidrar dette intervjumaterialet til å gi et nyansert bilde av juridisk uavhengighet. Analysen viser at det er mangel på juridisk uavhengighet både på strukturelt (dvs. institusjonelt) og individuelt (dvs. dommer) nivå. På det institusjonelle nivå er kanskje det største problemet at irakisk Kurdistan ennå ikke har sin egen konstitusjon samtidig som domstolene mangler rettslig prøvingsmyndighet av lover i forhold til den konstitusjonen som gjelder for hele Irak. Domstolene mangler også økonomisk uavhengighet. Selv om loven garanterer livstidsansettelse for dommere, blir ikke alltid dette respektert i praksis. Mange dommere er utnevnt for sine politiske preferanser, og mangler i en del tilfeller både utdanning og dommererfaring ved tilsettelse. Ytre press for å påvirke domstolene er en av de største utfordringene fordi politiske partier har så stor makt og innflytelse. Også på individuelt nivå opplever dommere ofte press fra blant annet politiske partier, religiøse ledere og fornærmedes familier for å avsi dommer i en spesiell retning. Førsteinstansdommerne er ikke autonome nok i forhold til dommere lenger oppe i dommerhierarkiet, og vil derfor alltid tenke strategisk i sine avgjørelser. Favorisering av partene i saken på grunnlag av kjennskap og vennskap (såkalt «wasta») er muligens en av vanskeligste utfordringene med tanke på dommernes upartiskhet.
Wed, 03 Jun 2015 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/101242015-06-03T00:00:00ZMed saksengasjement og ønske om autonomi til beste for effektivitet og omstilling. Mellomledere i norsk maritim industrihttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/10108
Med saksengasjement og ønske om autonomi til beste for effektivitet og omstilling. Mellomledere i norsk maritim industri
Sandvik, Anna Rotevatn
Master thesis
Denne oppgaven belyser sentrale kjennetegn hos mellomledere i norsk maritim bransje preget av organisasjonsutvikling og endring. Det er mellomledernes subjektive opplevelse av bransjen i lys av en endring som danner grunnlaget for oppgaven. Som teoretisk støtte for utvikling av problemstillingene og gjennomføring av den empiriske analysen er begreper og perspektiver fra organisasjons- og arbeidssosiologi benyttet. Mellomledere har tidligere blitt skildret som en ineffektive, lite handlekraftige og motstandere av endring. De har blitt stereotypisert som et overflødig og verdiløst mellomledd i ferd med å dø ut, som følge av en økende globalisering og teknologiske utviklinger. Forskere som Bill Woolridge, Paul Osterman og Quy Huy har undersøkt mellomlederes rolle ved organisasjonsutvikling og endring. Som følge av deres unike posisjon i midten har de indentifisert mellomledere som viktige aktører for aksept og implementering av endring, hvor de motbeviser stereotyperingen som tidligere har preget dem. I Norge er forskning på mellomledelse imidlertid relativt lite utviklet hvor denne gruppen har havnet i skyggen til fordel for toppledelsen og andre ansatte. Så hvordan opplever norske mellomledere i den maritime bransjen endring? Fremstår de som endringsvillige eller som motstandere av endring? Hvordan ser de på sin rolle i organisasjonen og ved endring? Oppgaven er basert på en case-studie med kvalitative intervjuer av et utvalg på tolv mellomledere i en strategisk valgt bedrift. Bedriften er en verdensledende leverandør av design og teknologiløsninger til det maritime globale markedet, som det siste året har vært igjennom mange omfattende omstillinger for å opprettholde en konkurransedyktig posisjon i markedet. Jeg har tatt utgangspunkt i en prosess der to organisasjoner rettet mot ulike markedssegment i bedriften har blitt slått sammen. Dette innebærer drastiske endringer ved organisasjonsstrukturen, sammenslåinger og betydelige nedbemanninger for å øke effektiviteten og minske kostnader. Hvordan mellomlederne stiller seg til omstilling og endring er en sentral del av oppgavens problemstilling og som kaster lys over særlige karaktertrekk ved mellomledere i denne bransjen. Studiens funn viser at mellomledere er svært endringsvillige, engasjerte og konkurranseorienterte. De er løsnings- og resultatorienterte hvor de opplever organisasjonsutvikling som fornuftig da det vil føre til en mer hensiktsmessig organisering av roller og beslutningsprosesser. Endring mener mellomlederne er vesentlig for å ivareta en bærekraftig organisasjon i et dynamisk marked. De fremstår som sterke kollektive transformasjonsledere, da de er opptatt av den enkelte ansatte og gruppen som fellesskap. Analysen synliggjør elementer av avmakt og fremmedgjøring rettet mot bedriften i en organisasjonsstruktur som mellomlederne opplever hindrer dem i å arbeide effektivt og målrettet. Denne distansen synliggjør et sterkt ønske om større handlingsrom og autonomi ved utførelsen av arbeidet. Likevel viser mellomlederne en sterk tilknytning til bransjen hvor innholdet i arbeidet er en viktig faktor for tilhørighet og motivasjon.
Thu, 11 Jun 2015 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/101082015-06-11T00:00:00ZSamarbeid i helse- og omsorgstjenesten. En casestudie av samarbeidsavtalenehttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/10107
Samarbeid i helse- og omsorgstjenesten. En casestudie av samarbeidsavtalene
Selliseth, Karoline Jangård
Master thesis
Ulike reformer og samfunnstendenser har ført til endringer i norsk helsesektor, og man beveger seg mot et samarbeid på tvers av nivåer. 1.1.2012 trådte samhandlingsreformen i kraft, og samtidig fikk man en ny lov om kommunale helse- og omsorgstjenester som forplikter kommuner og helseforetak å inngå samarbeidsavtaler og stiller et minimumskrav til hva avtalene skal inneholde. Formålet med avtalene er blant annet å fremme samhandling mellom kommuner og helseforetak ved å konkretisere oppgave- og ansvarsfordelingen dem imellom, samt å etablere gode samarbeidsrutiner på sentrale samhandlingsområder. Avtalene er således et statlig pålegg om å utarbeide en relasjon, men selv om samhandlingen er kontraktsbasert, er den også forhandlingsbasert og innebærer således også fleksibilitet og tilpasningsmuligheter. Temaet for denne studien er samarbeid på tvers av nivåer, og forskningsspørsmålet skal belyses gjennom en todelt case-studie basert på kvalitative data, hvor jeg ser på et samarbeidsforhold der samarbeidsavtalene har mindre innhold enn Nasjonal veileder, og et samarbeidsforhold der samarbeidsavtalene har mer innhold enn den nasjonale standarden. Hensikten er å undersøke hvorvidt variasjoner i utformingen av samarbeidsavtalene påvirker erfaringer med praktisk samarbeid mellom kommuner og helseforetak i de valgte samarbeidsutvalgene. Problemstillingen som har vært førende er, påvirker variasjoner i utformingen av samarbeidsavtalene erfaringer med praktisk samarbeid mellom kommuner og helseforetak i de valgte samarbeidsutvalgene? For å besvare problemstillingen har jeg benyttet ulike deskriptive teoretiske og analytiske tilnærminger. Dessuten har en todelt case-studie blitt brukt som forskningsdesign, med et datamateriale som bygger på intervjuer og dokumenter. Presentasjonen av funnene ble organisert i henhold til fem analytiske kategorier, som retter søkelys mot Sykehuset Innlandet (SI) og kommunenes, samt Ahus og kommunenes erfaringer med praktisk samarbeid. I analysen ble de teoretiske forventningene knyttet sammen med de empiriske funnene. Et hovedfunn er at relasjonen mellom Ahus og kommunene er preget av spenninger og konflikter, samtidig som avtalene inneholder mindre enn Nasjonal veileders minimumsløsning. SI og kommunene har på den andre siden et godt samarbeid, og i tillegg samarbeidsavtaler som er konkrete og innholdsrike og hvor det suppleres med mer innhold enn veilederen beskriver. Avtalene er således gode instrumenter for styring av en relasjon, dersom detaljeringsgraden fungerer. Uformelle verdier blir imidlertid mer fremtredende i tilfeller hvor avtalene ikke er standardiserte nok, og utstakt bruk av slik uformell samhandling kan medføre konflikter og tvister, som i Ahus. Uformelle former for ikke-avtalefestet samarbeid eksisterer også i relasjonen mellom SI og kommunene, men her foregår de i samspill med den instrumentelle styringen av relasjonen.
Mon, 01 Jun 2015 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/101072015-06-01T00:00:00ZProspektteori - En eksperimentell studie av forskjeller mellom individer og parhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/10106
Prospektteori - En eksperimentell studie av forskjeller mellom individer og par
Rostrup, Jørgen Christian Arentz
Master thesis
Prospektteori er en deskriptiv valgteori som
utfordrer valgteorien om forventet nytte.
Prospektteori baserer seg på psykologiske
fenomener som beskriver prosessen individer går
gjennom for å ta valg. Jeg er interessert i å
se om prospektteori kan kombineres med
gruppepsykologi for å forklare forskjeller i
valgene til individer og par når de stilles
overfor problemstilinger som involverer risiko.
Eksperimentet mitt ble utført på to ikke-
randomiserte grupper, hvor den ene gruppen
utførte eksperimentet i par, og den andre
gruppen utførte eksperimentet som
enkeltindivider. Deltagerne ble stilt to
forskjellige spørsmål som begge inneholdt ett
sikkert alternativ, og ett lotteri. Det ene
lotteriet hadde høy sannsynlighet for gevinst,
og det andre hadde lav sannsynlighet for
gevinst.
Dataene fra eksperimentet ble analysert ved
probit-regresjoner i statistikkprogrammet
Stata. Resultatene tilsier at par er mer
risikosøkende enn enkeltindivider. De velger
oftere bort de sikre alternativene. I tillegg
velger par oftere lotteriet med lav
sannsynlighet for gevinst, samtidig som det
ikke observeres noen forskjell i lotteriet med
høy sannsynlighet for gevinst. Det kommer også
frem at menn oftere velger begge lotteriene enn
kvinner.
Mon, 01 Jun 2015 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/101062015-06-01T00:00:00ZUnderholdskravet: En ulv i fåreklær? En komparativ analyse av motivene bak endringene av underholdskravet ved familiegjenforening.http://hdl.handle.net/1956/10105
Underholdskravet: En ulv i fåreklær? En komparativ analyse av motivene bak endringene av underholdskravet ved familiegjenforening.
Grimen, Sara
Master thesis
Denne studien er en komparativ casestudie av
motivene bak endringer av underholdskravet ved
familiegjenforening. Underholdskravet er en lov som
bestemmer at personer med opphold på humanitært
grunnlag (humanitære flyktninger) må ha en viss
inntekt før han/hun kan søke om
familiegjenforening. Jeg har gjennomført en
kvalitativ casestudie av tre tilfeller der
underholdskravet har blitt endret, eller foreslått
endret. De casene som er inkludert i studien er
Bondevik 2-regjeringens gjeninnføring av
underholdskravet i 2003, Stoltenberg 2-regjeringens
heving i 2008 og Solberg-regjeringens forslag til
ytterligere heving i 2014. Forskningsspørsmålet for
denne oppgaven er: hvordan har underholdskravet ved
familiegjenforening blitt brukt som et asylpolitisk
virkemiddel? Studien konkluderer med at noen av de
mest sentrale faktorene for endringen av
underholdskravet har vært innvandringsmengden og
nabolandenes innvandringspolitikk. Dette styrker
hypotesen om at underholdskravet har blitt brukt
som et asylpolitisk virkemiddel.; The aim of this study has been to investigate
motives behind three changes in the Norwegian
Immigration Act (Utlendingsloven). The subject in
focus has been the rules regarding family
migration, and especially the rule about the
subsistence requirement. This rule determines that
humanitarian refugees (i.e. persons with residence
permit on humanitarian grounds) must have assured
means of subsistence for his or her family before
family reunion is accepted. This rule has had three
important changes the last two decades, and it is
those three changes that has been the focus of this
study. The study is a comparative case study of
three law changes. The first case is from 2003,
when the Bondevik 2 Government reintroduced the
subsistence requirements. The law had previously
been removed from the Norwegian Immigration Act in
1997. The second case under study is from 2008,
when the Stoltenberg 2 Government raised the
subsistence requirements. The third case is from
2014, when the Solberg Government proposed to raise
the requirements even further. The research
question is: how has the rule about subsistence
requirements been used as a means to restrict the
Norwegian asylum policy. The study concludes that
the subsistence requirement was changed to affect
refugee flows in all three cases, and that it is
clear that it could be categorized as an asylum
policy instrument.
Tue, 02 Jun 2015 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/101052015-06-02T00:00:00ZEtterspørsel etter sjømat i Norge. Estimering av demografiske og økonomiske faktorer som påvirker konsumet av sjømat.http://hdl.handle.net/1956/10104
Etterspørsel etter sjømat i Norge. Estimering av demografiske og økonomiske faktorer som påvirker konsumet av sjømat.
Nerland, Malene
Master thesis
De seneste årene har sjømatkonsumet per person i Norge vært relativt stabilt. Økt konsum av sjømat er et uttalt mål fra regjeringen, og sjømatprodusenter har i økende grad begynt å fokusere på det innenlandske markedet. Det er derfor viktig å undersøke hvor sensitivt konsumet av ulike sjømatprodukter er med hensyn til endringer i varepriser og total utgifter til kjøp av sjømat.
Denne oppgaven er en etterspørselsanalyse av sjømat i Norge. Estimering av egenpris-, krysspris-, og utgiftselastisiteter kan bidra til å belyse hvordan og hvor mye etterspørselen etter ulike sjømatprodukter påvirkes av pris- og utgiftsendringer. Det skal også testes for i hvilken grad demografiske og sosioøkonomiske faktorer påvirker etterspørselen etter sjømat. Analysen bygger på rådata fra GfK-Norge i perioden 1999 til 2011. For å estimere elastisiteter og effekter er QUAIDS (Quadratic Almost Ideal Demand System)-modellen blitt brukt. Modellen er utvidet med demografiske variabler for å fange opp individuelle kjennetegn som forventes å ha betydning for preferanser og konsummønster.
Analysen viser at nesten alle de demografiske variablene har en påvirkning på husholdningers budsjettandel og utgiftsmønster til sjømat. Den kompenserte krysspriselastisiteten viser at varegruppene fersk, dypfryst, hermetikk, saltet/røkt/gravet/raket og annen emballasje er substitutter. Alle egenpriselastisitetene er negative. Resultatene for utgiftselastisitetene viser at noen sjømatprodukter er luksusgoder, deriblant fersk og dypfryst sjømat.
Statistikkprogrammet STATA/IC 13.1 og Microsoft Excel 2010 benyttes i oppgaven.
Thu, 28 May 2015 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/101042015-05-28T00:00:00ZEmpowering locals through school governance: A case of secondary school boards in Tanzaniahttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/10103
Empowering locals through school governance: A case of secondary school boards in Tanzania
Maeda, Christina Mosses
Master thesis
This study has been an attempt to address to what extent school boards as one of the user committees in education system are empowered and effective in accomplishing their responsibilities. The study had four specific objectives which were to examine the process involved in selecting board members; to examine the extent to which school board members were informed of their responsibilities; to examine board members access to resources and to asses' degree of autonomy possessed by school boards in making decisions. The study was focused on the two LGA's (Moshi Rural district council and Hai district council) where two schools were chosen one from each LGA, therefore the study was comparative. The two schools were studied in detail to examine if there was any significant difference between community public school and government public school in terms of how their school boards are empowered to accomplish their responsibilities effectively. The study employed qualitative approach where data was collected from in-depth interview, documentary review and direct observation. The sample size was 34 people who were chosen purposeful from different groups composed students, education officials, teachers and school board members. The empowerment theory was used to formulate the analytical framework which was used in analyzing the level of empowerment and effectiveness of the two mentioned cases. Key empowerment indicators which are access to information, access to resources, board selection procedure and autonomy were analyzed. From the findings, it was realized that school A which was government school was doing better compared to school B which is a community school due to the fact that most of its board members were more educated that those from school B. Not only that but school A was receiving full support from government grants something which contributed them to have better resources than school B which was partly depending on the community contribution which affected their financial resource base. Generally, the study concluded that although school boards from the studied cases are trying to accomplish their responsibilities but empowerment and effectiveness is still a promise far from reality due to the fact that school boards still suffer from lack of important information that helps them to participate in making school decisions like planning. The schools also lack enough educated human resources and proper mechanism to train school boards so this made them to have less potentiality in making school decisions. Also lack of enough access to financial resources as a result of poverty and low government budget affect their level of empowerment. Most of all the fact that, school boards are still considered as the voluntary advisory councils so this affects their level of autonomy in influencing school decision. Therefore this portrays that school boards are symbolic representatives who are there to fulfill or verify what is planned by other actors such as teachers, LGA's or central government.
Mon, 01 Jun 2015 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/101032015-06-01T00:00:00ZWikipedia based Query Expansion for Searching in Norwegianhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/10101
Wikipedia based Query Expansion for Searching in Norwegian
Johnsen, Lars Petter Trydal
Master thesis
With the rapid increase of information available on the Internet, searching is becoming a daily operation. This thesis address the issue that arises when there is a difference between what the users are typing in the search engine, and what they actually are interested in. The method presented in this thesis is a Query expansion method using Wikipedia as a knowledge-base, with the goal of reducing the gap between what the users are formulating, and the actual information need behind the search. The method is based on analysis of hyperlinks between articles in Wikipedia. The research contribution of this thesis is a new method for query expansion designed for Norwegian language. The proposed method uses the knowledge-base to suggest words for the users that are relevant to the original query. The evaluation of the new method shows a marginal increase in quality, but highlights the need for a search engine designed for Norwegian language. The thesis concludes that a search option for Norwegian language will produce better results, and the system for suggestion of words might help users move from a broad search strategy to a more precise search strategy.
Mon, 01 Jun 2015 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/101012015-06-01T00:00:00ZLæreplaner og framtidsplaner. Evaluering av Reform 94 (årsrapport 96/II)http://hdl.handle.net/1956/10083
Læreplaner og framtidsplaner. Evaluering av Reform 94 (årsrapport 96/II)
Olsen, Ole Johnny; Seljestad, Lars Ove
Research report
Wed, 01 Jan 1997 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/100831997-01-01T00:00:00ZFagopplæring i omforming: sentrale mål og lokal virkelighet. Evaluering av Reform 94. Sluttrapporthttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/10079
Fagopplæring i omforming: sentrale mål og lokal virkelighet. Evaluering av Reform 94. Sluttrapport
Olsen, Ole Johnny; Arnesen, Ellen Cathrine; Seljestad, Lars Ove; Skarpenes, Ove
Research report
1. utg. 1998
Fri, 01 Jan 1999 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/100791999-01-01T00:00:00ZSirkus Øygard. En kvantitativ innholdsanalyse av mediedekningen av Øygard-saken i papiravisene Verdens Gang, Dagbladet, Aftenposten, Gudbrandsdølen Dagningen og Fjukenhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/10061
Sirkus Øygard. En kvantitativ innholdsanalyse av mediedekningen av Øygard-saken i papiravisene Verdens Gang, Dagbladet, Aftenposten, Gudbrandsdølen Dagningen og Fjuken
Skjold, Christine Kvavik
Master thesis
Denne masteroppgaven tar for seg mediedekningen av den mye
omtalte Øygard-saken (også kalt Vågå-saken) i de fem
papiravisene Verdens Gang, Dagbladet, Aftenposten,
Gudbrandsdølen Dagningen og Fjuken. Prosjektet tar sikte på å
undersøke avisenes dekning av saken i lys av
samfunnsoppdraget og ulike teorier om skandale. Her vil jeg
undersøke i hvilken grad avisene har oppfylt sitt
samfunnsoppdrag i dekningen. Hvordan de har rammet inn
saken gjennom omfang, prioritering, sjanger, kilder, tema,
fokus, vinkling og bildebruk. Jeg vil også undersøke hvordan
avisene har dekket saken i lys av politiske skandaler.
Fri, 15 May 2015 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/100612015-05-15T00:00:00ZMeiningsutveksling og parasosiale relasjonar i kommentarfeltet - Ein diskursanalyse av bloggen til Caroline Berg Eriksenhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/10058
Meiningsutveksling og parasosiale relasjonar i kommentarfeltet - Ein diskursanalyse av bloggen til Caroline Berg Eriksen
Lied, Hanne Solveig Høgalmen
Master thesis
Denne oppgåva ser nærare på korleis ein bloggar også kan nytte bloggen som ein kommunikasjonkanal mellom seg sjølv og lesarane. Caroline Berg Eriksen nyttar den ikkje berre som ein kanal for å formidle informasjon og interesser, men også til meir direkte samtaleliknande kommunikasjon. Det å oppretthalde eit høgt tal lojale lesarar er viktig både for å få personleg bekreftelse og for å gjere seg attraktiv for annonsørar og andre potensielle oppdragsgivarar. Oppgåva omhandlar korleis Caroline balanserer mellom rollene som suksessrik forretningskvinne, kjendis og småbarnsmor. Ved å sjå på korleis Caroline og lesarane utvekslar meiningar og formar ein diskurs i kommentarfeltet kan eg også seie noko om måten dei kommuniserer på. Er lesarane lojale og bekreftande ovanfor Caroline sine verdisett eller stiller dei seg kritiske til hennar posisjon? Målet med analysen er å gi eit større innblikk i korleis ein av Noregs størte bloggar er bygd opp på tekstnivå og korleis lesarar og forfattaren Caroline kommunisere til kvarandre i kommentarfelta.Denne kommunikasjonskanalen legg til rette for ein svært samtaleliknande form for kommunikasjon mellom aktørane, noko som fostrar personlege og tilsynelatande nære relasjonar mellom aktørar som aldri har møtt kvarandre fysisk.
Fri, 15 May 2015 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/100582015-05-15T00:00:00ZUsing RDFa to reduce privacy concerns for personal web recommendinghttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/10048
Using RDFa to reduce privacy concerns for personal web recommending
Valland, Christoffer Meland
Master thesis
The amount of available information on the web is
increasing, and companies are expanding the way to both
collect and use the information available. This is the
situation for both personal information, and technological
information such as HTML-documents. Throughout this
paper, I will describe the development of a semantic web
recommender system that aims to reduce the amount of
personal information needed to provide personal web
recommendations. Semantically marked up documents on
the web contain information, which is not necessarily
provided in a user interface. This means there are
possibilities to expand the area of use for this technology.
The use of Semantic Web-technologies can therefore
contribute to reduce the need of giving away personal
information on the web.
This thesis is divided in two parts: The first part focuses on
the development of a semantic application, and the new
area of use of this technology. The other part focuses on
how standard recommenders handle privacy concerns on
the web. The thesis will provide a description of the
development of the recommender system, as well as an
explanation of online privacy and how different web service
providers' deals with it. The system uses an RDFa-API to
collect semantic information available on web-documents,
and further uses this information to provide
recommendations for the users. This thesis concludes that
it is possible to recommend new web content for a user
with this method, but the collected information varies
wildly. This is related to both the complexity of the
developed system and the way things" are marked on the
web. It is further shown that this method can reduce
personal information, however it is shown that users who
are comfortable with social medias are not worried about
privacy on the web.
Mon, 01 Jun 2015 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/100482015-06-01T00:00:00Z"Mannen med moppen". Et studie av kjønnsroller og sosial diversitet på en multikulturell renholdsinstitusjonhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/10047
"Mannen med moppen". Et studie av kjønnsroller og sosial diversitet på en multikulturell renholdsinstitusjon
von Ahnen, Veronika Tholo
Master thesis
Mye tyder på at det virker som renholdsyrket mange steder i verden er assosiert med kvinner. Bransjen er også forbundet med en lav status. I Norge har det de siste årene vært en økning mannlige ansatte i renholdssektoren. Også andelen ansatte fra land utenfor Norge har økt. Gjennom våren 2014 gjorde jeg et feltarbeid for å undersøke hvordan de ovennevnte beskrivelser av yrket påvirker renholdere, og spesielt har jeg sett på hvordan dette påvirker menn. Basert på dette feltarbeidet dreier denne oppgaven seg om etnografisk beskrivelse og et studie av kjønnsroller, yrkesidentitet og kjønnsidentitet. I den sammenheng analyserer jeg sosial interaksjon mellom kjønn og etnografi som belyser maktdynamikker og sosial organisering i arbeidsmiljøet. Renhold har de siste årene gått gjennom massive endringer hvor standardisering og mekanisering av arbeidsverktøy er en stor del av utviklingen. Med denne «renholds revolusjonen» i tankene ser jeg på hvordan dette har innflytelse på yrket som «kjønnet» (forbundet med kvinner), og hvordan disse prosessene produserer nye kjønnsroller og ny organisering av arbeidsoppgaver på arbeidsplassen. På Multirent (navnet på renholdsinstitusjonen) jobber det mennesker fra hele verden. I lys av dette har jeg derfor også sett på fasetter ved dette mangfoldet, hvor det er stor variasjon med hensyn til alder, kjønn, kunnskap, og bakgrunn. Noen mennesker velger renholdsyrket, andre jobber som renholdere i mangel på andre alternativ. I masteroppgaven diskuterer jeg også mulig sosial mobilitet og hvordan sosial status blir erfart. Her går jeg gjennom ulike opplevelser ved det å være renholder, motivasjon i arbeidsdagen, utdanning og kompetansebakgrunn, og ambisjoner for fremtiden. Prosjektet har som formål å gi et bilde av ulike sosiale utfordringer som kan oppstå på en «multikulturell arbeidsplass», samt å bidra til forståelse av kjønn og arbeidsliv.
Fri, 22 May 2015 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/100472015-05-22T00:00:00ZDigital læring av førstehjelp; et førstehjelpsspill for barn i grunnskolenhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/10003
Digital læring av førstehjelp; et førstehjelpsspill for barn i grunnskolen
Engrønningen, Stian
Master thesis
Dagens førstehjelpstilbud i den norske grunnskolen er variert. Hver enkelt kommune har ansvar for at elevene får tilstrekkelig med førstehjelpsundervisning, men det er dessverre slik at kommunene har ulike prioriteringer. Ansvaret for å legge opp denne undervisningen blir i mange tilfeller lagt over på de enkelte lærerne. Ettersom en del lærere ikke har god nok erfaring med slik undervisning, kan dette føre til en uheldig variasjon i kvaliteten på førstehjelpstilbudet i grunnskolen. Dette er bekymringsfullt i og med at førstehjelp er et viktig tema og kunnskap om førstehjelp kan redde liv. I denne avhandlingen har det blitt utviklet et førstehjelpsspill som er ment å være et alternativ eller supplement til den eksisterende førstehjelpsundervisningen i grunnskolen. Hovedformålet med spillet er å bistå lærere i førstehjelpsundervisningen, samt å bidra til et mer standardisert og organisert førstehjelptilbud i grunnskolen. Spillet er i prototype-stadiet, men det har blitt utviklet som et interaktivt produkt og tilsvarer et ferdig spill. For å kunne evaluere potensialet til et slikt førstehjelpsspill og for å vurdere om det har mulighet til å kunne supplere førstehjelpstilbudet i skolen, ble det gjennomført ekspertevalueringer og brukertesting. I ekspertevalueringene kom det blant annet frem at det er viktig å få et mer organisert system rundt førstehjelp og i brukertestingen ble det vist at læring av førstehjelp, ved hjelp av et spill, både var gøy og lærerikt.
Mon, 25 May 2015 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/100032015-05-25T00:00:00ZPostmarket Surveillance of Orthopaedic Implants using Web-technologieshttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9996
Postmarket Surveillance of Orthopaedic Implants using Web-technologies
Ertkjern, Ørjan
Master thesis
In the European Union (EU) between 8-12 % of patients admitted to hospitals, suffer harm from the healthcare they receive every year. There are many reasons for this, e.g. surgical error, error in diagnostics and medical device failures etc. (European Commission, 1994).
Currently there is no publicly available central system to log/archive failures of medical devices inside of Europe. Under the EU's medical device directive, surgeons are requested to report failures to the nation's relevant government department. In Norway, they have Helsedirektoratet, which covers this role. The Ministry of Health and Care Service administrate Helsedirektoratet (Helsedirektoratet, 2014). In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has implemented such a system called MAUDE (Manufacturer And User Facility Device Experience) (FDA, 2014). In this Open Data search engine, surgeons and even the public can search data and information regarding all the failures collected in the system.
At Haukeland University Hospital in Bergen, the Biomaterial Research Group are implementing a retrieval centre where the goal of the centre is to promote surgeons to send failed knee and hip prosthesis to Bergen, so that they can be reported directly to Helsedirektoratet. The goal of the retrieval centre is to discover bad prosthesis, cements or bad surgery techniques as early as possible to avoid complications and to improve the treatment of patients. They would like to have a system similar to MAUDE, so that both surgeons and potentially the public could view all the failures collected in a reduced format. In addition to this, they want to be able to gather relevant data from several external sources (Helse Bergen, 2014).
A high-level prototype has been created in this project. The prototype gathers relevant medical data from the retrieval centre's local database containing failed hip- and knee-prosthesis records, as well as data from three different external sources. The external sources are MAUDE, Clinical Trials and PubMed which are publicly available web-based databases. The system is generating summaries and statistics based on user searches towards the different sources. The prototype is a web application that presents the functionalities and a design alternative for such a system, as well as to promoting Open Data for health research. The system will be a proof of concept as a proposition to generate further funding, with the goal of reaching the entire European Union.
Mon, 01 Jun 2015 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/99962015-06-01T00:00:00ZDigital storytelling as tool for conveying cancer diagnoses to childrenhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9993
Digital storytelling as tool for conveying cancer diagnoses to children
Fjellanger, Maiken Beate
Master thesis
The experience of receiving a cancer diagnosis might be hard for
many, especially for children as they lack knowledge and
understanding of what this entails. Receiving information is said
to have great effects on the way one handles difficult emotions in
difficult situations. It is therefore important that the children
receive information about cancer understandable to them. As
children seem to enjoy the use of technical devices from a young
age, this might be utilized to communicate difficult issues in a
child-friendly way.
The goal of this thesis was to get an indication towards how a
digital story application could function as a tool for conveying
cancer diagnoses to children, as well as how the interaction
design in such applications could support intuitive interaction.
The focus group are children of five years of age and upwards. To
answer these research areas, a prototype was developed on the
basis of data gathered from professionals, and evaluated with
children who have experienced receiving a cancer diagnosis in
early age (4-14 years). The result indicated that digital storytelling
could be helpful in the process of conveying cancer diagnoses to
children. Valuable feedback according to interaction design
suggests improvements such as increased visibility of clickable
elements and concrete instructions regarding scroll-navigation in
the prototype.
Overall reactions was positive and suggest needs for such tools.
Mon, 01 Jun 2015 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/99932015-06-01T00:00:00ZEksklusivavtalar og investeringhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9965
Eksklusivavtalar og investering
Sandvik, Håvard Mork
Master thesis
Ein eksklusivavtale er ein kontraktfesta klausul mellom aktørar på ulike ledd i ei vertikal verdikjede. Avtalen hindrar ein eller fleire aktørar frå å drive handel med andre enn den eksklusive partnaren. Eit døme er ein forhandlar som bind seg til å føre produktet til ein eksklusiv produsent, ein eineleverandøravtale. Eksklusivavtalar er kontroversielle både i økonomisk teori og praktisk konkurransepolitikk. Årsaken til kontroversane er at avtalane kan ha motstridande effektar på den økonomiske velferda. Det er vist at eksklusivavtalar på den eine sida kan føre til velferdsskadeleg utestenging av aktørar, medan dei på den andre sida kan styrke velferda ved å fremme effektivitet. Ein av desse effektivitetsvinstane er at eksklusivitet kan stimulere til investering og innovasjon. Formålet med denne oppgåva er å studere korleis eksklusivavtalar påverkar incentiva bedriftene har til å investere. Oppgåva tek føre seg den økonomiske litteraturen som omhandlar eksklusivitet og investering.
Eit viktig funn er at eksterne verknader er ein viktig faktor for å avgjere investeringseffekten av eksklusivavtalar. Med eksterne verknader (spillovereffektar) forstår ein at investeringa har innverknad på verdien av handel for aktørar utanfor den aktuelle relasjonen, til dømes viser litteraturen at eineleverandøravtalar kan stimulere til investering frå aktørar oppstraums (nedstraums) når investeringane har positive (negative) eksterne verknader. Eit av bidraga til denne oppgåva er å vise at tapet av positive spillovereffektar, frå eit velferdsperspektiv, kan dominere vinsten av auka individuell investering. I dei tilfella investeringane berre påverkar intern verdi, er litteraturen meir delt når det gjeld effekten av eksklusivitet. Det er funne situasjonar der eksklusivitet kan stimulere til slike investeringar, men også tilfelle der eksklusivitet er irrelevant for investering. Oppgåva argumenterer for at det kan vere særs utfordrande å fastslå totalverknaden eksklusivitet har på velferd. Til dømes kan investeringseffekten i seg sjølv vere med på å gjere skadeleg utestenging mogleg.
Sun, 31 May 2015 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/99652015-05-31T00:00:00ZPressestøttedebatten: Fra pressestøtte til mediestøtte.http://hdl.handle.net/1956/9940
Pressestøttedebatten: Fra pressestøtte til mediestøtte.
Sørgård, Kjersti Lill
Master thesis
I denne masteroppgaven undersøker jeg debatten om offentlig støtte til aviser. Jeg har i hovedsak gransket to ulike perioder. Disse er diskusjonen omkring innføringen av pressestøtten i 1969 og dagens debatt rundt en ny mediepolitikk og pressestøtte i en digital tidsalder.
Tue, 19 May 2015 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/99402015-05-19T00:00:00ZImpacts of the oil and gas industry on the livelihoods of men and women working in the fisheries: a study of Shama, Ghana.http://hdl.handle.net/1956/9939
Impacts of the oil and gas industry on the livelihoods of men and women working in the fisheries: a study of Shama, Ghana.
Dowokpor, Victoria
Master thesis
The discovery of oil and gas in Ghana in 2007 and subsequent production since 2010 have sparked high development and economic expectations in various sectors of the Ghanaian economy. The oil exploration and production may create changes in the predominant livelihood systems either to the benefit or detriment of fisher folk living along the coast. Fisheries in Ghana are organised along gender lines where men fish and women process and sell fish. This study examines the livelihood impacts of oil and gas activities in Shama, a coastal town located 20 kilometres east of Takoradi where most oil and gas exploration and related activities take place. I focused on Shama because fisher folk are predominantly engaged in deep sea fishing where oil and gas installations have been built. The main objective is to examine the gender differentiated impacts of offshore oil and gas extraction on the livelihoods of men and women working in the fisheries, and to examine whether there are particular categories of men and women who are either gaining additional livelihoods or losing livelihoods as a result of the emergent oil and gas industry.
Theoretically, the study draws on the Sustainable Livelihood Framework (SLF) and gender theories including intersectionality to examine the livelihood impacts of the oil and gas industry on fisher folk in Shama. The concept of vulnerability in the Sustainable Livelihood Framework is used to shed light on the obstacles created by the oil and gas offshore operations and how fishermen and fish traders cope with or adapt to them. The gender theory was used to establish the differences in the level of impacts on the livelihood categories of men and women and to show fisher folk who were either gaining or losing out. The study uses the qualitative research methodology to investigate the various issues. Specifically, I employed interviews and observation, and analysed the data through category interpretation and thematic analysis to reveal the gender differentiated impacts of the activities of the oil and gas industry.
The study's sample consisted of 42 informants (28 men and 14 women). It was identified that, there were different views about the impacts of the oil and gas industry on fishing livelihoods. From the perspectives of fisher folk, it is posing great harm to their livelihoods. For instance, the oil and gas operations are leading to the loss of access to fishing grounds. From the perspectives of the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development and oil and gas companies, fisher folk exaggerate the effect the oil and gas has on their fishing livelihoods. These institutions claim that the oil and gas activities have insignificant effects on fishermen and fish traders' livelihoods. Based on the claims from the different interest groups, it can be concluded that, the oil and gas industry has both positive and negative impacts on the livelihoods of men and women working in the fisheries. Fisher folk are benefiting from oil companies' Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) projects. They are however losing an important natural asset (fishing grounds) to the oil and gas industry.
The study also finds that fishermen, whose working space is offshore, are directly affected by the oil and gas industry. The impacts of the oil and gas exploration however vary among fishermen due to factors such as the types of fish caught, the type of fishing gear used as well as social...
Thu, 14 May 2015 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/99392015-05-14T00:00:00ZFeminization of Agriculture in Melamchi, Nepal? Addressing gender in agricultural production and household decisions.http://hdl.handle.net/1956/9938
Feminization of Agriculture in Melamchi, Nepal? Addressing gender in agricultural production and household decisions.
Laxaa, Gunnhild
Master thesis
This thesis is based on two months of fieldwork in Melamchi, Nepal in 2014. The objective of this study is to examine whether a feminization of agriculture" has occurred in the study area by investigating the local farming system and the gendered division of agricultural labour and managerial responsibilities.
According to the household survey (n=54), a strong gendered division of agricultural tasks exist in this area, thus men and women have clear responsibilities and restrictions. By the use of various fieldwork methods it was discovered that women in some cases have to take on tasks that are generally considered men's work". Women are in charge of various managerial decisions related to the agricultural production, but any major decisions are still controlled by men. Decisions concerning how to spend the household income are made by men alone in 67 % of the households. The real influence of women as decision-makers can therefore be questioned. The influence of factors like education, caste and ethnicity and access to financial services has also been discussed. I argue that a feminization of labour does not ensure a strengthening of women's position in the household, rather, if women get more work and no influence in decision-making processes the feminization of agriculture" is just a form of exploitation.
An attempt has been made to explain how the authority of the decision-maker obtains legitimacy in patriarchal households in Melamchi. In order to do this, Weber's theory of domination and the description of the ideal type traditional authority have been used. According to informants, parampara (tradition) is the main reason why men legitimately dominate decision-making processes. Therefore traditional authority is relevant in this case. I argue that social structural like virilocality and patrilineality should be included in the definition of traditional authority.
Ecofeminists argue that if women could choose freely, they would grow subsistence cultivation with high biodiversity in order to feed their families and take care of nature. Even though women were often found to be in charge of the cultivation of vegetables and subsistence farming, this cannot be seen as a sign on their affection towards nature. Women expressed a wish for more intensively driven production in order to increase the household's income, just like their male counterparts. I therefore argue that women are not more concerned with the small-scale, subsistence farming, rather that they have been confined to it.
Fri, 15 May 2015 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/99382015-05-15T00:00:00ZNavigering av grenser mellom vennskaps- og arbeidsrelasjoner på jobben - en utgreeing av to bedrifters sosiale arena.http://hdl.handle.net/1956/9937
Navigering av grenser mellom vennskaps- og arbeidsrelasjoner på jobben - en utgreeing av to bedrifters sosiale arena.
Sandvold, Birgitte Sofie
Master thesis
Dette er en antropologisk studie, basert på mitt feltarbeid ved to norske bedrifter. Jeg har i denne masteroppgaven utforsket forholdet mellom arbeid og vennskap, ved å forsøke å analysere disse domenene som et felles samhandlingsfelt. Ved å utforske navigeringen av grenser mellom den formelle og den uformelle arbeidsarena, kommer et spenningsforhold mellom arbeids- og vennskapshensyn til syne. Dette spenningsfeltet blir ytterligere utbrodert gjennom en vektleggelse av informanters verdier på arbeidsplassene. Gjennom verdier som likhet, egalitet, hygge, fellesskap og anerkjennelse kommer konkrete arbeidssosialiteter til syne. Å belyse slike verdier blir gjort med hjelp av Bruun, Jakobsen og Krøijers (2011) "verdimestringshierarki", hvilket bygger på Dumonts argument om at introduksjon av verdi alltid innebærer hierarki. Slik vises også hierarkiske strukturer, i en på overflaten heller egalitær arena. Videre vil jeg studere hvordan likhet står fram på to norske arbeidsplasser og hvilke former den tar. Ved å analysere grensesettingen mellom de formelle og uformelle forventninger på arbeidsplassen synliggjøres også forholdet mellom egalitet og hierarki. I mitt empiriske materiale viser det seg at normative forventninger spiller en viktig rolle for utformingen av arbeidsmiljø og den uformelle sosiale arena. Informanters individuelle forståelse av og vektleggelse av gitte verdier og normer påvirker således deres posisjonering i ulike verdihierarkier. Under feltarbeidet ble en sammenheng mellom informanters sosiale status, popularitet og det å inneha en høy plassering i ulike verdimestringshierarkier funnet. Dette må så betraktes i en bredere kontekst bestående av faktorer som blant annet livsfaser, alder og kjønn. Det empiriske materialet som presenteres i denne oppgaven er unikt for de to bedriftene og de beskrevne informanter. Materialet viser til en særegen sammensetning av individer og deres evne til å forstå og håndtere vennskapsrelasjoner og normativt regulert handling. Likevel, nøkkelverdier som her blir trukket fram, kan uttrykke fellesstrekk som er aktuelle også ved andre sosiale fellesskap. På denne måten kan navigeringen av forholdet mellom en hierarkisk formell arena og en på overflaten heller egalitær sosial arena vise hvordan likhetstankegangen håndteres i Norge i dag.
Thu, 30 Apr 2015 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/99372015-04-30T00:00:00ZEffektevaluering av kontantstøttereformen - ulike langtidseffekter på arbeidsmarkedsdeltakelsen til etnisk norske kvinner og innvandrerkvinner?http://hdl.handle.net/1956/9936
Effektevaluering av kontantstøttereformen - ulike langtidseffekter på arbeidsmarkedsdeltakelsen til etnisk norske kvinner og innvandrerkvinner?
Flaatten, Kristine Klekken
Master thesis
Mødre som benytter seg av kontantstøtten vil stå utenfor arbeidsmarkedet i mellom ett og tre år. Påvirker denne beslutningen deres videre arbeidsmarkedskarriere?
I denne oppgaven undersøkes det hvor vidt det eksisterer langsiktige effekter av kontantstøttereformen på småbarnsmødres arbeidsmarkedsdeltakelse. Videre ser jeg på om eventuelle effekter varierer mellom etnisk norske kvinner og ulike innvandrerkvinner.
Ved hjelp av paneldatainformasjon fra FD-trygd analyseres kausale sammenhenger mellom kontantstøtten og mødres lønnsnivå i en periode på syv år. Det gjøres ved å sammenlikne utviklingen for mødre berettiget kontantstøtte med mødre uten rett til kontantstøtte.
Resultatene fra analysen indikerer at kontantstøtteeffekten for alle mødrene er størst i årene de kan benytte seg av ordningen. Jeg finner likevel en effekt også i årene moren ikke lenger kan motta støtte. Den langsiktige effekten reduseres og er nesten borte de siste årene for etnisk norske kvinner. For innvandrerkvinner, særlig for de med ikke-vestlig bakgrunn, ser det derimot ut til å være en større vedvarende effekt av kontantstøtten.
StataIC 13 er benyttet for de statistiske beregningene i denne empiriske analysen.
Fri, 29 May 2015 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/99362015-05-29T00:00:00ZThe Proposed Re-development of the Takoradi Market Circle and its likely. Implications for Market Traders' Access to Trading Space.http://hdl.handle.net/1956/9935
The Proposed Re-development of the Takoradi Market Circle and its likely. Implications for Market Traders' Access to Trading Space.
Amiteye, Joanna
Master thesis
Market centres are important state and private institutions in Ghana. Apart from being the main places for buying and selling, they constitute major sources of livelihood for many people in Ghana, especially women. Despite their importance, many market infrastructures in Ghana are in deplorable conditions and in most cases require urgent renovation and upgrading often referred to as re-development. However, market re-development projects are often fraught with controversies and fierce opposition due to the non-involvement of the traders who are the main beneficiaries and rumours that often reinforce public scepticism of likely displacement of the poor and less powerful traders. After the discovery of oil and gas in the Western Region of Ghana in 2007 and the subsequent oil production and exploration activities, Takoradi city authorities have provided a new development scheme which seeks to renovate and upgrade old buildings within the metropolis. One of the major landmarks to benefit from the re-development scheme is the Takoradi Market Circle (TMC). TMC is the largest market centre in the Western Region and attracts attendants from many parts of the region and beyond. Built many decades ago, the market centre is currently faced with limited space and deteriorating market conditions. The proposed re-development of the TMC therefore envisages upgrading the current two storey market building into a more multi-storey market complex in order to create more trading space for traders. This is in response to the high demand for limited urban space in Takoradi due to increased urbanisation and growth in commercial activities following the discovery of oil offshore the city. However, city authorities lack the financial capacity to implement the proposed plan and seek to achieve this vision through a public private partnership. The study uses a mixed method approach and theories of gender, informality and urban planning to examine the likely implications of the proposed re-development of the TMC for market traders' access to the market space in the envisioned market. It explores the organisation of trading activities in TMC as well as the challenges encountered by traders, especially in their use of the market. It also examines the participation of traders in the planning processes of the future market and how their involvement can inform the plan in terms of dissipating possible conflicts and enhancing traders' input towards the outcome of the project. The study found that organisation of trading activities in done basically along commodity and gender lines. The types of commodities sold and trading spaces occupied by traders are influenced by gender and gender ideologies. Also, gender is fundamental to the various commodity and market associations in TMC. The study also found that the challenges faced by market traders are embedded in gender ideologies and the concept of informality. From a gender perspective women are undervalued, consequently, less attention is paid to the places they work. Also, challenges such as limited access to market space and limited participation in decision making reflects the characterisation of market traders as informal traders. In addition, the study identified that the main objective of the proposed re-development of the TMC and the targeted PPP as the source of funding of the project could have likely implications for the traders as informal workers.
Fri, 15 May 2015 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/99352015-05-15T00:00:00ZNegotiated Entitlements: A Study of Land and Water Access in the Tono Irrigation Project in Navrongo, Ghana.http://hdl.handle.net/1956/9932
Negotiated Entitlements: A Study of Land and Water Access in the Tono Irrigation Project in Navrongo, Ghana.
Agandin, John Baptist Akanvariyuei
Master thesis
The economy of Northern Ghana is largely agrarian with over 70% of the population engaged in agriculture and agricultural based livelihood activities (GSS, 2012). Agriculture is however characterised by poor yields as a result of erratic rains and poor soils. Irrigation offers greater opportunities for livelihoods security and poverty reduction through all-year-round cultivation and higher yields. Creating irrigation facilities and allocating land and water rights however raises many land tenure issues involving many social actors. In the Tono Irrigation Scheme in the Upper East region, management has to work through and against several actors to institutionalize authority and resource control. These actors include; farmers, chiefs, family landholders, earthpriests (tigatiina/tengnyam), local politicians, and village committee executives. Using an extended entitlement framework, this study investigates how power play and competition between the various actors affect the distribution of land and water resources. The framework links both macro and micro levels of analysis, matching external and higher level forces to internal, local level dynamics that affect access to resources. Further insight is drawn from the dynamics of land rights and the exercise of compulsory acquisition by government to acquire land for development projects in Ghana as well as the role of agricultural policies and interventions and market forces in shaping resource access behaviour.
The study found that there is a gap between statutory/formal institutions and local practices - pre-existing customary land tenure and informal land transactions. This opens the door for manipulation by powerful actors. Big men', politicians, local chiefs and other customary landholders try to circumvent one set of rules with the other in order to support claims and counter claims for control or access rights to land and water resources. In the process, resource allocation is skewed in favour of these powerful actors who have privileged access to scheme lands whilst local small-scale farmers, women and young people are generally disadvantaged and lose out. Competition also borders on the legitimate authority to mediate conflicts on project lands as local chiefs compete with Village Committee executives as well as the authority of management not only over scheme lands but also for the allegiance of local farmers. The study suggests that as many irrigation users tend to obtain access to land through diverse combinations of statutory and customary entitlements, local land tenure issues must be properly taken into account in establishing irrigation facilities and regulations should aim to build on local tenure systems rather than attempting to replace them. Existing inequalities in customary tenure systems must also be recognised and attempts made to cater for the interest of weaker social groups.
Fieldwork was done over a three month period from June to August, 2014. Qualitative data was collected through Individual and Key Informant interviews, Group Interviews, field observations, photo elicitation and informal discussions. Forty five (45) individual informants drawn from all the actor groups were interviewed using a semi structured interview guide. Each interview lasted a minimum of one (1) hour. Officials and Key informants were interviewed on more than one occasion. Two group interviews were also conducted in two communities.
Thu, 14 May 2015 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/99322015-05-14T00:00:00Z«Uttrykket endrer seg, men budskapet er det samme». En studie av en generasjonsmenighet i endring.http://hdl.handle.net/1956/9931
«Uttrykket endrer seg, men budskapet er det samme». En studie av en generasjonsmenighet i endring.
Fure, Annika
Master thesis
Denne avhandlingen er en antropologisk studie av pinsevenner i en vestlandsk pinsemenighet. Gjennom oppgaven har jeg sett på hvordan endringsprosesser i forhold tro og religiøs praksis kan forstås i en generasjonsmenighet som befinner seg i det norske samfunnet.
Sentrale spørsmål er: Hva er det som driver religiøs endring? Hvordan påvirker religiøs endring de troendes forhold til det guddommelige? Hvilke prosesser er det som holder tilbake for religiøs endring?
Menigheten jeg gjorde feltarbeid i var en klassisk pinsemenighet hvor fornyelse var sentralt, men hvor dette også skapte utfordringer. Dette var også disse endringene som opptok menighetsmedlemmene, hvor de ble dratt mellom det å være en klassisk menighet med fokus på tradisjon og å være en moderne og tidsriktig menighet. Som en generasjonsmenighet var det mange hensyn som måtte tas med tanke på fornyelse, og det ble derfor en spenning mellom det å være en pådriver for endring for å erverve nye medlemmer, og det å holde igjen for å tilfredsstille de eksisterende medlemmene.
Jeg argumenterer for at disse endringene fikk konsekvenser for menighetens medlemmer og deres forbindelser til det guddommelige. En praktisk endring jeg ser på, er musikkstilen i menigheten, hvor moderne lovsang er forskjellig fra sangbokmusikk. Jeg ser derfor på hvordan musikk fungerer som medieringsform mellom menneskene og det guddommelige, og hvordan menneskenes forhold til Gud også endres når musikken endres. I tillegg tar jeg for meg hvordan ulik rituell praksis kan forstås mellom generasjonene i Kirkehjemmet. Den eldre generasjonen tok tydeligere i bruk nådegaver til oppbyggelse for menigheten. Den yngre generasjonen mente derimot at nådegavene var til personlig oppbyggelse. Jeg argumenterer for at dette skiftet handler om et ønske om et mer personlig forhold til Gud, hvor individet og Gud er i sentrum. Dette skaper en spenning mellom verdiene fellesskap og individualisme. Det økte individfokuset var i tråd med den stadig mer populære "neo-pentekostale" retningens fokus på nærhet med Gud. Gjennom oppgaven trekker jeg på at den klassiske pinsemenigheten som jeg gjorde feltarbeid i tok opp i seg noen elementer fra den neo-karismatiske praksisen, samtidig som de beholdt et klart skille. Det kom frem gjennom menighetens gavepraksis at deres grunnleggende fokus var kjærlighet, noe som skilte seg fra neo-pentekostal "prosperity gospel". Menigheten var dermed ikke gjenstand for en total endring, for deres fokus på verdiene fellesskap og kollektivitet var så sentrale.
Fri, 22 May 2015 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/99312015-05-22T00:00:00ZIs the "Mother Grain" feeding the world before her own children? An examination of the impact of the global demand for quinoa on the lives and diets of Peruvian quinoa farmers.http://hdl.handle.net/1956/9930
Is the "Mother Grain" feeding the world before her own children? An examination of the impact of the global demand for quinoa on the lives and diets of Peruvian quinoa farmers.
Lovejoy, Milo Juniper
Master thesis
This project examines factors the impact of the increasing global
demand for quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) on its production and
local consumption in southern Peru through a methodological
triangulation of semi-structured interviews, external data from
national monitoring sources, and secondary sources collected
from other researchers. This paper presents data collected
through semi-structured interviews with 50 participants from 12
villages in the vicinity of Puno and Cuzco. Fieldwork took place
from May to July 2014 and interviews were made possible with
the help of key informants and interpreters.
This paper examines how the social, political, and economic
value of quinoa has changed as the result of increased global
demand and how those changes have affected local quinoa
consumption among southern Peruvian quinoa farmers. The
escalating monetary value of quinoa has induced farmers to
produce more both for themselves and for the market, although
they have yet to see significant financial gains. The social value
of quinoa, inflated by vociferous promotion from Peruvian First
Lady Nadine Heredia and the Food and Agriculture Organization
of the United Nations (FAO), has resulted in increased
consumption among more financially stable farmers, whereas
poorer farmers lack the resources to produce more.
This study concentrates on the microlevel concerns of individuals
and households associated with the commercialization and
global demand for quinoa, a traditional food crop that has
fluctuated in value due to external pressures that once
discouraged but now encourage its local consumption. Although
this study did not find evidence of dietary transition among the
southern Peruvian informants, it was found that quinoa's social
significance is increasing along with the global demand, thus
leading the way for increased local consumption and production
of quinoa.
Fri, 15 May 2015 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/99302015-05-15T00:00:00ZHva er forholdet mellom MNC, kunnskapsflyt og fornyelse i en næringsklynge? En studie av MNC i NCE Subsea-klyngen.http://hdl.handle.net/1956/9929
Hva er forholdet mellom MNC, kunnskapsflyt og fornyelse i en næringsklynge? En studie av MNC i NCE Subsea-klyngen.
Orre, Lina Frogner
Master thesis
Denne oppgaven ser nærmere på multinasjonale selskaper (MNC) i NCE Subsea-klyngen. NCE Subsea er en regional klynge i Hordalandsregionen. Den består hovedsakelig av bedrifter som spesialisert inn mot ettermarkedsdelen av verdikjeden i subseasektoren. De opererer med modifikasjon, drift og vedlikehold av subseautstyr rettet mot utvinning av olje og gass på havbunnen. Klyngen ble i 2006 tildelt status som Norwegian Centre of Expertise (NCE). Norwegian Centres of Expertise er et nasjonalt program som ble utviklet for å forsterke innovasjon og internasjonalisering i de mest vekstkraftige næringsklyngene i landet. Tildelingen av NCE-statusen er i tillegg til å være et program for å løfte klyngen, en anerkjennelse av en sterk industriell klynge med vekstpotensial og internasjonal posisjon. NCE Subsea-klyngen er spesialisert innenfor en sektor som i dag står overfor pressende utfordringer fra den overordnede olje- og gassindustrien. Fornyelse og omstilling vil med tid bli et tema for den norske subseasektoren, som i dag retter seg mot olje og gass. Som en del av subseasektoren er dette også aktuelle problemstillinger for NCE Subsea-klyngen. Som en klynge som både er preget av sterk spesialisering og av sterk internasjonalisering er det et interessant empirisk eksempel for en studie. I følge klyngelitteraturen fremheves nettopp internasjonalisering (som tilstedeværelse av MNC) som en viktig forutsetning for læring og nyskaping i en klynge. Altså for at en klynge skal kunne opprettholde innovasjonsevnen og konkurransekraften må de ha internasjonale koblinger ut av klyngen til andre steder for å få tilflyt av ny kunnskap og impulser. Men videre påpeker litteraturen at internasjonale koblinger ikke er tilstrekkelig for å stimulere innovasjonsevnen på lang sikt. Klyngen er også avhengig av å ha koblinger rettet mot andre næringer eller annen økonomisk aktivitet for å «få inn» ny kunnskap. Disse antakelsene baseres på teorier som understreker at læring og nyskaping skjer når man kombinerer to ulike, men komplementerende typer kunnskap. I den forbindelse er hensikten med oppgaven å se på forholdet mellom MNC, kunnskapsflyt og fornyelse er i en næringsklynge. Dette belyses gjennom en kvalitativ studie av MNC i NCE Subsea-klyngen. I studien skal det avdekkes hvordan disse MNC'ene påvirker kunnskapsflyt i klyngen, som kan stimulere til læring og nyskapelse. Og avslutningsvis diskuteres det hvorvidt MNC sin påvirkning fremmer fornyelse i NCE Subsea-klyngen.
Fri, 15 May 2015 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/99292015-05-15T00:00:00ZByutvikling i lys av Bybanenhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9928
Byutvikling i lys av Bybanen
Schmincke, Jimmy Oliveira
Master thesis
En studie av Bybanens påvirkning på Nesttun gjennom
eiendomsutvikling. GIS og semi-strukturert intervju ble brukt
som metode.
Fri, 15 May 2015 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/99282015-05-15T00:00:00ZNorge som turistdestinasjon og autentisk opplevelse. En studie av unge utenlandske turisters reisemotiver og opplevelse av Norge.http://hdl.handle.net/1956/9927
Norge som turistdestinasjon og autentisk opplevelse. En studie av unge utenlandske turisters reisemotiver og opplevelse av Norge.
Solbakken, Viljar
Master thesis
Oppgaven har som overorndet mål å se på reisemålet Norge som en turistdestinasjon og et reisemål for autentiske opplevelser. Autentiske opplevelser er et viktig tema i den forstand at store deler av turistnæringen går i retning av å være opplevelsesbasert, (Pine og Gilmore, 1999; Mossberg, 2007). Derfor vil jeg i denne oppgaven bruke det innsamlede empiriske materialet til å gi et forslag til hva som kan sies å være autentisk ved Norge. Det er spesielt interessant å se på en turistdestinasjon et slikt perspektiv. Her finner man på den ene siden det autentiske som kommersielle konstruksjoner. På den andre siden, sett fra et samfunnsfaglig ståsted, er det autentiske et spørsmål om individuelle oppfatninger. Fra det samfunnsfaglige perspektivet er det ikke en ensrettet forståelse av hva det autentiske er. Enkelte peker på at dette må vurderes ut i fra enkeltindividets erfaringer, fordi opplevelser ikke lar seg måle objektivt. Da er det snakk om eksistensiell autentisitet, (Tuan, 1977; Wang; 1999; Rickly-Boyd, 2013). Andre, slik som sosiologen Dean MacCannell (2013) mener at autentisitet er et spørsmål om hva som er ekte og hva som er falskt. Han mener at individet kan bedømme hva som er autentisk og hva som ikke er det, men at autentisitet ikke kan være en følelse eller en personlig opplevelse. Da snakker man om objektiv og konstruert autentisitet. I tillegg kommer stedsperspketivet, hvor blant annet geografen Edward Relph (1976) mener at autentiske steder er vanskelig å oppleve, fordi globaliseringen ødelegger mange steders identitet.
Ettersom turismen består av mange ulike segmenter, har oppgavens forutsetning vært å bli kjent med et helhetlig bilde av informantene. Det vil si at jeg først gjorde meg kjent med deres reisemotivasjoner og valg om å reise til Norge, for deretter å gå nærmere inn på opplevelsesaspektene. I helhet gav dette et inntrykk av hvilke type turister de var og hvordan opplevelsene av det autentiske ble gjenspeilet i deres motiver og turistroller. Funnene fra det empiriske materialet viste at utforskning, læring og sosiale opplevelser var sentrale motiver hos informantene. Det ble også identifisert to ulike reisestrategier. Omtrent halvparten av utvalget foretok en rundreise i Norge, med endestopp i Bergen. Den andre halvparten brukte Bergen som base og utgangspunkt for opplevelser i byen og fjordene på Vestlandet. Dette gav også grunnlag for å sammenligne rundreise og baseturistenes beskrivelser av natur og by-opplevelser.
Fri, 15 May 2015 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/99272015-05-15T00:00:00ZMeningsinnhold og planstrategi i områdesatsingen Ytre Arna, Bergen - Kan meningsinnhold og planstrategi ses i sammenheng?http://hdl.handle.net/1956/9926
Meningsinnhold og planstrategi i områdesatsingen Ytre Arna, Bergen - Kan meningsinnhold og planstrategi ses i sammenheng?
Bø, Eivor Bjørnarsdotter
Master thesis
Oppgaven har som hensikt å undersøke hvordan planstrategien og ulike former for meningsinnhold er forankret i områdesatsingen i Ytre Arna, Bergen. Områdesatsing er områderettet arbeid som tar sikte på å forbedre fysiske og sosiale strukturer i områder som er utsatt for levekårsutfordringer. I Norge er det Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim og Drammen som har en slik innsats per dags dato. Arbeidet med områdesatsing er et samarbeid mellom staten og aktuelle kommuner. Bergen kom inn i den statlige ordningen i 2011. Ytre Arna fikk statlig støtte fra 2012 og prosjekttiden på områdesatsingen i dette området er fra 2012 - 2017. Det som gjør Ytre Arna unikt er den tidligere industrihistorien fra industrialiseringen på 1800-tallet, som tok slutt på 1970-tallet. Fabrikkbygningene står der fortsatt og preger den dag i dag området.
Organisasjonsstrukturen i områdesatsing i Bergen sier lite om hvordan planstrategien er forankret i områdesatsingen. Det har derfor vært interessant å undersøke hvordan planstrukturene i områdesatsingen kan si noe om hvilket planstrategisk grunnlag den hviler på. I tillegg har jeg undersøkt hvordan meningsinnhold kan virke strukturerende på arbeidet med områdesatsingen i Ytre Arna. Dette har jeg gjort med inspirasjon fra den poststrukturalistiske tilnærmingen til diskursanalyse. Blant annet fremhever Foucault at kunnskap alltid er sammenkoblet med makt (Mirchandani, 2005). Derfor har det vært interessant å se på om områdesatsingen baserer seg på meningshold fra diskursive felt. Og om meningsinnholdene fra de diskursive feltene påvirker strukturene i arbeidet med områdesatsingen i Ytre Arna. Med andre ord ser jeg på om planstrategien i områdesatsingen blir påvirket av meningsinnhold fra diskursive felt.
Medvirkning står sterkt i arbeid med områdesatsing. Dette gjelder også for Ytre Arna. Her har Bergen kommune, gjennom å inkludere lokalbefolkningen i området, oppmuntret til en stor grad av deltakelse. I byrådssaken om områdesatsing i Bergen (Bergen kommune, 2012-b) er det også forventet at arbeid med områdesatsing skal foregå gjennom et tett og forpliktende samarbeid mellom byrådsavdelingene og etatene i Bergen kommune for å kunne sikre en helhetlig og sammenhengende innsats. På denne måten er medvirkningsperspektivet i områdesatsing viktig både i en kommunal og lokal sammenheng.
Fri, 15 May 2015 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/99262015-05-15T00:00:00ZHva med lisensen? En studie av posisjoner i debatten om finansieringen av NRK.http://hdl.handle.net/1956/9925
Hva med lisensen? En studie av posisjoner i debatten om finansieringen av NRK.
Olsen-Hagen, Regine Skjærpe
Master thesis
Studien tar for seg den mediepolitiske debatten
om NRK og finansieringen av NRK under den
offentlige høringen av NRK-plakaten i
tidsrommet 2014-2015. Studien bygger på
kvalitative intervjuer og dokumentanalyse for å
kartlegge hva som kjennetegner posisjonene i
debatten.; The study examines the debate on NRK and the
financial structure of NRK during the public
hearing that took place in 2014-2015. The study
is based on qualitative interviews and document
analysis to identify the characteristics of the
positions in the debate on media policy and the
Norwegian public service broadcaster.
Fri, 15 May 2015 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/99252015-05-15T00:00:00ZPersonifisering av Digital Dagbok gjennom bruk av Interaksjons Designhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9924
Personifisering av Digital Dagbok gjennom bruk av Interaksjons Design
Sørheim, Helen
Master thesis
År 2001 har vore eit nøkkelår innan psykisk
helse, da Verdas Helseorganisasjon (WHO)
identifiserte og fjerna norma «stigmatisering
av psykisk sjuke menneske» i samfunnet
offisielt. Etter dette har der vore stor
framgang innan forsking og behandling rundt
psykiske dysfunksjonar. Derimot er der framleis
mange ukjende og utfordrande faktorar innan
psykiske sjukdomar i dag. Der er også store
utfordringar som personen med psykisk
dysfunksjon har i kvardagen, sjølv med
behandlingsmetodane på plass (Unite for sight,
Cultural Perspectives on Mental Health,
s.b.2015).
Til denne prosjektoppgåva har det blitt utført
tre ulike undersøkingar, med fokus i å finne
konkrete problemstillingar som personar med
psykiske dysfunksjonar har i dag. Her med
spesiell vekt på dysfunksjonen Schizofreni Det
har blitt lagt vekt på å finne ein teknologisk
løysing som kan betre eller løyse den gitte
problemstillinga, gjennom bruken av ulike HCI
metodar og teknikkar. Det har også blitt lagt
fokus på om den teknologiske løysinga har
relevans for ei større brukargruppe enn berre
for personar med psykiske dysfunksjonar, samt
korleis HCI teknikkar og metodar kan integrere
desse brukargruppene i den teknologiske
løysinga. Undersøkingane som har blitt utført
inkluderer «brainstorming workshop», kvalitativ
forsking, samt design forsking.
Fem deltakarar har deltatt i,- og gjennomført
den første undersøkinga (Brainstorming
Workshop). Elleve deltakarar har deltatt i den
andre undersøkinga (I-Djupna intervju og
Grounded Theory analyse). Til den tredje
forskinga derimot har der vore stor fokus rundt
innsamling av informasjon over internett, samt
i omgjevnadar i samfunnet. Resultatet av
undersøkingane er ein mobil applikasjon, med
stor vekt på sterkare og meir effektiv
handtering av kvardagen og akutte situasjonar.
Pasienten sitt støtteapparat blir også
inkludert i ein meir aktiv samanheng i den
mobile løysinga. Designa rundt den mobile
løysinga er av ein høg kvalitet, som lett kan
brukast i samanheng med produktutvikling.
I prosjektet har det blitt lagt stor vekt på
tilbakemeldingar som er gjort av personar med
psykiske dysfunksjonar sine støtteapparat.
Dette inkluderer spesielt vedkomande sine
pårørande, men også ulike avdelingar i
hjelpeapparatet. Tilbakemeldingar som dei
pårørande har gitt, inkluderer erfaringar og
konklusjonar. Det har også blitt inkludert
ulike kunnskapar som avdelingar i
hjelpeapparatet har synleggjort. Det viktigaste
steget i vidare forsking bør så vere ein
klinisk-kontrollert undersøking, som er direkte
utført på pasientar. Dette med tanke på naturen
av denne typen sjukdomar, som er ein sårbar
tilstand hos personar med psykiske
dysfunksjonar.
Resultata som har blitt oppnådd i
undersøkingane viser ein stor grad av
kompleksitet rundt situasjonen av utfordringar
som personar med psykiske dysfunksjonar har, og
dette har blitt reflektert i komplekse design
og ein detaljert kravspesifikasjon. Som dei
ulike resultata synleggjer, er kompleksiteten i
det verkelege liv for personar med psykiske
dysfunksjonar og deira pårørande heilt klart
ein utfordring, men utfordringa er ikkje
nødvendigvis umogleg å overvinne.
Tue, 05 May 2015 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/99242015-05-05T00:00:00ZVisualisering og mønstergjenkjenning på transaksjonsbaserte data fra Enterprise Resource Planning og Point of Sale baserte bedrifterhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9923
Visualisering og mønstergjenkjenning på transaksjonsbaserte data fra Enterprise Resource Planning og Point of Sale baserte bedrifter
Hesselroth, Eskil Arntzen
Master thesis
De fleste bedrifter benytter i dag forretningssystemer for å samle inn og
behandle forretningsrelaterte data. Enterprise Resource Planning(ERP) og
Point of Sale(POS) programvare er eksempler på systemer som begge
generer og lagrer store mengder av denne typen data relatert til handel. I en
spørreundersøkelse Stodder (2013) gjennomførte, uttrykte 37 % av de 453
deltagende respondentene at tilgang til data fra disse og andre typer
forretningssystemer er meget viktig i datavisualiseringsapplikasjoner. Basert
på dette, identifiseres det et behov for å kunne uthente informasjon fra
transaksjonsdata, som kan brukes til for eksempel mersalg, markedsføring
og vareplassering. For å kunne tilfredsstille dette behovet, presenteres det i
dette prosjektet en applikasjon ved navn EinBlick, et verktøy utviklet iterativt
i Java. Applikasjonen benytter metoder fra forskningsområdene
datavisualisering og data mining, for å tilby brukerne funksjonalitet for å
navigere, filtrere, søke, visualisere og analysere transaksjonsdata. Ved å
støtte oppkobling og uthenting av data fra relasjonsdatabaser, forhindrer den
håndtering av data lokalt i for eksempel tekstfiler. I tillegg er det mulighet for
brukeren å kunne kombinere data fra flere tabeller, og dette gir støtte for å få
innsyn i transaksjonsdata med samme struktur fra ulike kilder. EinBlick gir
brukeren mulighet til å generere flere ulike interaktive visualiseringer og finne
asssosieringsregler basert på brukerens data. Denne funksjonaliteten gjør det
mulig for brukere å kunne dykke inn i dataene, for både å bekrefte og
utforske relasjoner og mønstre som ikke ville vært synlig i en skjematisk
form. Det har blitt gjennomført to evalueringer i prosjektet ved hjelp av
testdeltagere fra konsulentselskapet Advania. Den første evalueringen ble
gjort for å danne et inntrykk vedrørende deltagernes meninger om
applikasjonen, og hvorvidt de fant den brukervennlig. I den andre
evalueringen ble applikasjonen med implementert data mining funksjonalitet
evaluert, for å undersøke hvorvidt denne funksjonaliteten forbedret
deltagernes opprinnelige inntrykk. Funnene fra evalueringen viser at de har
svært positive inntrykk av applikasjonen, og at de finner den brukervennlig.
De viser også at implementering av data mining funksjonalitet forbedrer dette
inntrykket ytterligere.
Fri, 01 May 2015 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/99232015-05-01T00:00:00ZCounter-stereotypical Images of Muslim Characters in the Television Serial 24: A Difference that Makes no Difference?http://hdl.handle.net/1956/9894
Counter-stereotypical Images of Muslim Characters in the Television Serial 24: A Difference that Makes no Difference?
Halse, Rolf E. S.
Journal article
In the early years of the millennium racial counter-stereotypes gained prominence
in Hollywood entertainment. This article examines the television serial
24’s (2001–10) efforts to combat allegations of stereotyping by including racial
counter-stereotypes of Muslim characters, as the serial has been accused of
stereotyping this specific group. 24’s attempts to achieve a balanced portrayal
have resulted in the introduction of Muslims who feature among the regular
cast and are depicted in a positive manner. Combining close analysis with critical
and theoretical accounts of ‘whiteness’ and counter-stereotyping, the article
centres on the key characteristics of counter-stereotypes and how they operate
in 24.
Thu, 01 Jan 2015 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/98942015-01-01T00:00:00ZSystems Education at Bergenhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9870
Systems Education at Bergen
Wheat, David; Kopainsky, Birgit; Davidsen, Pål; Pedercini, Matteo
Journal article
At the University of Bergen in Norway, educating students to use computer models and to think systemically about social and economic problems began in the 1970s. The International Masters Program in System Dynamics was established in 1995, and a Ph.D. program began a few years later. Student enrolment doubled in 2010 with the establishment of the European Master Program in System Dynamics. International diversity has been a hallmark of the Bergen program; each year, students come from about 30 different countries and more than 95% of the degrees have been awarded to students from outside of Norway. However, a Bergen systems education is not confined to a classroom in Norway. Projects in developing countries, emerging economies, and developed countries have taken the systems perspective and modeling tools on the road and, increasingly, online. Whatever the delivery mode, the goal is the same: capacity building among international students, planners and managers, and local stakeholders. This paper describes the Bergen program and its impact on systems thinking and modeling throughout the world.
Wed, 16 Apr 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/98702014-04-16T00:00:00ZEpistemic Dependence and the EU Seal Ban Debatehttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9869
Epistemic Dependence and the EU Seal Ban Debate
Blichner, Lars Christian
Journal article
On September 2009 the European Union (EU) adopted a regulation banning the import of seal products into the EU or placing seal products on the EU market. The European Parliament was the main driving force behind the regulation and the EU has been criticised by affected countries outside the EU for not basing this decision on the available expert knowledge. The questions asked are how, given epistemic dependence, non-experts may challenge an expert based policy proposal. Can non-experts hold experts accountable, and if so in what way? Three main tests and ten subtests of expert knowledge are proposed and these tests are then used to assess whether the European Parliament did in fact argue in a way consistent with available expert knowledge in amending the Commission proposal for a regulation.
Tue, 31 Mar 2015 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/98692015-03-31T00:00:00ZRegulering av samfunnsansvar i norske klesbedrifter. En sammenlignende case studie av norske klesbedrifter og hvordan ulike aktører regulerer deres policyer for samfunnsansvarhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9862
Regulering av samfunnsansvar i norske klesbedrifter. En sammenlignende case studie av norske klesbedrifter og hvordan ulike aktører regulerer deres policyer for samfunnsansvar
Hessevik, Agnete
Master thesis
Bedrifters virksomhet påvirker menneskers liv og det lokale og globale miljøet. Som et resultat av mulig negativ påvirkning, oppstår et krav om at bedrifter skal ta samfunnsansvar, også for forhold i leverandørkjeden. Det oppstår også et spørsmål om hvem som skal regulere bedrifters samfunnsansvar. Problemstillingen for studien lyder: Hvordan reguleres bedrifters samfunnsansvarspolicyer. Studien tar sikte på å forklare hvordan statlige og ikke-statlige aktører regulerer norske bedrifters valg av policy for samfunnsansvar. Dette undersøkes ved kvalitativ sammenlignende case-studie som metodisk tilnærming. Ved å sammenligne fire norske klesbedrifter, beskriver jeg bedriftenes policy for samfunnsansvar, undersøker hvilke aktører som regulerer bedriftenes samfunnsansvarspolicyer, og forsøker å forklare på hvilken måte policyene reguleres. Studien finner at den norske stat ikke ønsker en utstrakt lovregulering av bedrifters samfunnsansvar. I stedet er det andre aktører som i sterkere grad regulerer. Ikke-statlige organisasjoner, kunder og forbrukere, samt eiere har stor påvirkning på bedrifters valg av samfunnsansvarspolicy. Hybridregulering og selvregulering er viktige former for regulering av bedrifters samfunnsansvar, og virker på områder som ikke er lovregulert. Men studien viser også at reguleringsregimet for norske klesbedrifter er uoversiktlig og komplisert. Det er ikke slik at bedrifter er passive mottakere av regulering, men at de inngår reguleringsavtaler som en følge av både krav fra aktører i omgivelsene og moralsk motivasjon innenfra.
Mon, 01 Dec 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/98622014-12-01T00:00:00ZBiofuels and land politics: Connecting the disconnects in the debate about livelihood impacts ofjatropha biofuel land deals in Ghanahttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9861
Biofuels and land politics: Connecting the disconnects in the debate about livelihood impacts ofjatropha biofuel land deals in Ghana
Boamah, Festus
Doctoral thesis
<p>In the 2003-2006 period, the Ghanaian government supported jatropha biofuel initiatives on
so-called degraded land areas to reduce Ghana’s high oil import bills and to generate
employment opportunities. However, after Ghana’s discovery of oil and gas in 2007, the
government retreated from jatropha biofuel promotion, leaving the burgeoning biofuel
industry to be dominated by chiefs, private investors and NGOs. Moreover, economic
hardships that prevailed in Ghana as a result of the 2007-2008 global financial and oil crises
compelled the Ghanaian government to subsidise both domestic fossil fuel prices and food
crop production. The swift switch of the government’s attention to fossil fuel without
formulating biofuel regulations created a leeway for allocations of productive land to biofuel
investors by chiefs, who strategically categorised certain land areas as marginal land and
therefore suitable for jatropha projects which were promised to be ‘pro-poor’. The situation
generated a proliferation of reports analysing livelihood impacts of biofuel projects in Ghana.
The reports were mainly based on media news headlines, anecdotal observations and short term
fieldwork on biofuel projects or sometimes on unconcluded projects. The reports only to
a limited extent discussed the diverse social networks upon which different people draw to
access resources and the socio-political institutions that mediate resource access in place- and
context-specific ways. Livelihood creation or loss related to biofuel projects was hence often
represented as a one-time event. Moreover, the shifting authority over land between the
Ghanaian state and chiefs since the pre-colonial period to the present and its implications for
the recent large-scale land deals did not feature prominently in the land deals debate.</p>
<p>This methodological incompleteness of the conceptualisation of local livelihoods and research
on biofuel projects suggests that the discourses used in the representation of potential
outcomes of biofuel projects often overlook the historical background of ongoing local land
politics which are crucial for an understanding of contemporary agrarian development
trajectories and of the ways in which resource access maneuvering spaces are defined by
evolving social institutions in a specific polity. These crucial issues or what I call disconnects
need to be included and thoroughly examined in the land deals debate. Drawing mainly on
ethnographic fieldwork (household surveys, archival records, case studies, etc.), and follow ups
on biofuel projects in Ghana for a period of over three years, the study shows that a
person’s or a group’s recognition by legitimate institutional actor(s) is a prerequisite for the
(re)gaining of resource access during and after biofuel project implementation. Since the institutions defining resource entitlement are in a constant flux, creating or sustaining
livelihoods then becomes a process rather than as an event. The impacts of biofuel projects on
livelihoods are therefore not simply shaped by ecological conditions or by the predominant
livelihood activities in biofuel project areas. Using ethnographic methods and analysing
qualitative data in detail and over time, the study connects the disconnects in the biofuel land
deals debate. The study shows that specific biofuel projects may have differentiated impacts
on the livelihoods of different individuals and social groups depending on: a) how apt
particular individuals and social groups interact with the evolving social and political
institutions in specific locations to create and sustain livelihoods; and b) how investors
(re)negotiate local socio-political institutions in the implementation of biofuel projects. The
study concludes that regulations that explicitly define the roles of the specific actors involved
in biofuel projects and the establishment of a governmental institution enforcing the
regulations can provide a promising avenue for better biofuel governance.</p>
Fri, 17 Apr 2015 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/98612015-04-17T00:00:00ZUnilineal descent and the house – again: The Ngadha, eastern Indonesiahttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9784
Unilineal descent and the house – again: The Ngadha, eastern Indonesia
Smedal, Olaf H.
Journal article
Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/97842011-01-01T00:00:00ZDisarmament Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) of ex-combatants in Angola. Why did DDR only succeed in the third and last of the three peace processes?http://hdl.handle.net/1956/9752
Disarmament Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) of ex-combatants in Angola. Why did DDR only succeed in the third and last of the three peace processes?
Andersen, Vegard
Master thesis
<p>This thesis is a qualitative case study comparing the three Angolan peace processes, the Bicesse
Accords, the Lusaka Protocol and the Luena Memorandum of Understanding. The thesis seeks to
explain why Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) only succeeded in the third
and last of the three peace processes. On the basis of the research question the thesis discusses
changes in the political environment between the two failed attempts and the last one that
succeeded. The approach I have used is to design a list of five criteria considered important for a
successful DDR process and analyzed the empirical data in the light of these criteria: 1) Realistic
time frame. 2) Creation of a new unified army. 3) Regional approach to weapons control. 4) The
role of the UN. 5) Power-sharing.</p><p>The civil war in Angola took place from 1975 to 2002 and was predominantly fought between the
Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and the União Nacional para a
Independência Total de Angola (UNITA), for the total control of Angola and its vast natural
resources. Questions that keep arising in the aftermath of a conflict are how long will the fragile
peace last and what kind of peace-building initiatives will be effective? DDR of former excombatants
is a political process that is built on mutual trust and will by the parties. DDR is the
first step in the transition from war to peace. My findings indicate that the government’s military
victory over the UNITA, crowned with the killing of UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi, finally
silenced the guns in the three decades long civil war. Sustainable peace became possible when the
biggest spoiler of the DDR process was eliminated and this event unfolded a chain of positive
reactions that was not present during the two failed attempts. The MPLA government won the war
against the UNITA, which led to the success of criterion 2; completion of the reintegration of
UNITA ex-combatants into a new unified army. But prior to this, a regional approach to weapons
control (criterion 3), achieved by the MPLA government during the final war (1998-2002),
limited UNITA’s military manoeuvrability and weapons supply. The impact that the end of the
cold war made, together with the end of the conflict in South Africa were also additional
“outside” factors. The solution of criterion 3, which put a stop to cross-border arms flows to
UNITA, reduced Savimbi’s spoiling capacity. This criterion seems to have been particularly
important for making peace possible during the third and last DDR process.</p>
Tue, 01 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/97522011-11-01T00:00:00ZJo større jo bedre? - en drøfting av fordelene og ulempene ved kommunereform og en analyse av betydningen av størrelse for offentlig forvaltninghttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9737
Jo større jo bedre? - en drøfting av fordelene og ulempene ved kommunereform og en analyse av betydningen av størrelse for offentlig forvaltning
Theting, Hans Rasmussen
Master thesis
Fokuset på norsk kommunereform har økt betraktelig de siste årene. Det politiske klimaet er i ferd med å endres i retning av at en kommunereform må innføres fra sentralt hold, i motsetning til den tidligere holdningen om at kommunereform skal besluttes på frivillig basis, den såkalte frivillighetslinja. Dette skiftet i den politiske tilnærmingen til kommunereform representerer et veiskille i norsk politikk og en potensiell kilde til politisk konflikt. Denne oppgaven diskuterer fordelene og ulempene ved en potensiell norsk kommunereform, gjennom en teoretisk drøfting og en empirisk analyse av betydningen av størrelse på enhet for offentlig forvaltning. Dersom fordelene ved størrelse er den drivende faktoren for kommunereform, bør den også kunne dokumenteres med empiriske analyser. Den teoretiske drøftingen presenterer litteratur som diskuterer betydningen av størrelse for offentlig forvaltning, og rasjonale for sammenslåing opp mot litteraturen knyttet til «fiscal federalism» perspektivet. Videre følger den empiriske analysen som benytter NAV-reformen som en indirekte analyse for å vurdere den potensielle effekten av en kommunereform. Her er fokuset hvilken betydning størrelse på enhet hadde for måloppnåelsen i NAV-reformen. Den empiriske analysen estimerer en «difference-in-difference» modell som vurderer måloppnåelse i arbeids -og velferdsforvaltningen før og etter NAV-reformen i tidsperioden 2003-2010. Resultatene indikerer at NAV-reformen hadde en svak, men negativ effekt på nøkkelvariablene, et resultat som støttes opp av tidligere studier av emnet. Resultatene fra analysen viser ingen betydelig forskjeller mellom kommuner som er mindre og kommuner som er større enn regjeringens foreslåtte minstekommune. I tilfellet NAV-reformen kan vi dermed ikke bekrefte påstanden om at større kommuner fungerer bedre enn mindre kommuner. Det statistiske programmet benyttet i analysen er STATA.
Sat, 31 Jan 2015 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/97372015-01-31T00:00:00ZInadequate risk assessments – A study on worst-case scenarios related to petroleum exploitation in the Lofoten areahttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9689
Inadequate risk assessments – A study on worst-case scenarios related to petroleum exploitation in the Lofoten area
Hauge, Kjellrun Hiis; Blanchard, Anne; Andersen, Gisle; Boland, Ragnhild; Grøsvik, Bjørn Einar; Howell, Daniel; Meier, Sonnich; Olsen, Erik Joel Steinar; Vikebø, Frode Bendiksen
Journal article
Heated debates are currently taking place on whether to open the area of Lofoten and Vesterålen in Northern Norway for petroleum production. Seismic explorations in this area have indicated promising petroleum resources. The area is known for its unique landscape and as a key spawning and nursery area for several economically important fish species. It hosts significant bird colonies and the world's largest-known deep-sea coral reef. New areas will be opened to petroleum production only if its high environmental value can be maintained. A risk analysis approach has become central to this decision, where the probability of a ‘worst-case scenario’ (a major oil spill) is assessed together with associated environmental impacts. This paper examines and characterises uncertainties associated with these risk assessments and some of the surrounding debates. Further, the paper reveals implications of these uncertainties: (1) potential values embedded in the risk assessments, (2) lack of validity of quantified worst-case scenarios and their probabilities and impacts, (3) limited prospects of filling addressed knowledge gaps and (4) how risk assessments restrict the debate on what issues and uncertainties are considered relevant. Taken together, this suggests that discussions on alternative approaches to decision making should be more prominent in public and political debates.
Sat, 01 Feb 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/96892014-02-01T00:00:00ZDo non-enforceable contracts matter? Evidence from an international lab experimenthttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9678
Do non-enforceable contracts matter? Evidence from an international lab experiment
Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Hagen, Rune Jansen; Sørensen, Erik Øiolf; Tungodden, Bertil
Journal article
Many verifiable contracts are impossible or difficult to enforce. This applies to contracts among family and friends, contracts regulating market transactions, and sovereign debt contracts. Do such non-enforceable contracts matter? We use a version of the trust game with participants from Norway and Tanzania to study repayment decisions in the presence of non-enforceable loan contracts. Our main finding is that the specific content of the contract has no effect on loan repayment. Rather, the borrowers seem to be motivated by other moral motives, which contributes to explaining why they partly fulfill non-enforceable contracts. We also show that some borrowers violate the axiom of first-order stochastic dominance when rejecting loan offers. This seems partly to be due to negative reciprocity, but may also reflect that there are individuals who have a preference for not accepting something referred to as a “loan.”
Sat, 01 Mar 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/96782014-03-01T00:00:00ZSystemic assessment framework of a learning organization's competitive positioninghttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9669
Systemic assessment framework of a learning organization's competitive positioning
el Hachem, Wissam; Harik, Ramy; Khoury, Joseph
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to devise an innovative feasible, replicable and comprehensive assessment framework of a learning organization's competitive positioning.
Design/methodology/approach: The three characteristics listed above are approached as follows. Feasible refers to being easy and not in need of much resources (time, personnel,...). This is done through early elimination of non-important variables. Replicable is having a well structured methodology based on scientific proven methods. Following this methodology would result in good results that can be explained if needed and replicated if deemed necessary. Comprehensive translates into a holistic set of indices that measure performance as well as organizational learning.
Findings and Originality/value: The three attributes (feasible, replicable and comprehensive) have become crucial for ensuring any kind of added value for such a methodology that hopes to tackle the modern dynamic business environment and gaining a sustainable competitive advantage.
Research limitations/implications: Such a methodology would require several full contextual applications to be able to set its final design. It entails thorough internal revision of a company's structure. Therefore a great deal of transparency and self-transcendence from the individual involved is a pre-requisite for any chance of success.
Originality/value: It offers a systematic way to assess a company's performance/competitive positioning while accounting for the crucial attribute of organizational learning in its makeup.
Wed, 01 Jan 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/96692014-01-01T00:00:00ZLabour market mobility among senior workers in Norwayhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9609
Labour market mobility among senior workers in Norway
Tobro, Anne Marte Lunde
Master thesis
As many developed countries, Norway has a growing elderly population and need to administer some policy change to cover the cost of the increasing number of pension recipients. One of the solutions to this problem is to give workers incentive to stay in the workforce longer. This thesis analyse the senior workers labour market mobility by studying the probability of leaving the workforce and the probability for senior workers to conduct a job change. Understanding job-to-nonemployment and job-to-job mobility give valuable information on the development of the labour market for senior workers, and with this information it is possible to better facilitate policy incentives.
Nonemployment and job-to-job mobility are both represented as binary variables in this thesis, and I have chosen to use the logit model to calculate the probabilities. The results from the probability of leaving the workforce conforms to the theory and show that lower educated individuals have a higher probability of leaving early. The probability of job change does also decline with age, but the age coefficients have a curvilinear shape. The probability of job change increase before declining, and this is more difficult to explain.
Mon, 02 Feb 2015 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/96092015-02-02T00:00:00ZLow Probability of Initiating nirS Transcription Explains Observed Gas Kinetics and Growth of Bacteria Switching from Aerobic Respiration to Denitrificationhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9574
Low Probability of Initiating nirS Transcription Explains Observed Gas Kinetics and Growth of Bacteria Switching from Aerobic Respiration to Denitrification
Hassan, Junaid; Bergaust, Linda Liberg; Wheat, David; Bakken, Lars
Journal article
In response to impending anoxic conditions, denitrifying bacteria sustain respiratory metabolism by producing enzymes for reducing nitrogen oxyanions/-oxides (NOx) to N2 (denitrification). Since denitrifying bacteria are non-fermentative, the initial production of denitrification proteome depends on energy from aerobic respiration. Thus, if a cell fails to synthesise a minimum of denitrification proteome before O2 is completely exhausted, it will be unable to produce it later due to energy-limitation. Such entrapment in anoxia is recently claimed to be a major phenomenon in batch cultures of the model organism Paracoccus denitrificans on the basis of measured e−-flow rates to O2 and NOx. Here we constructed a dynamic model and explicitly simulated actual kinetics of recruitment of the cells to denitrification to directly and more accurately estimate the recruited fraction (). Transcription of nirS is pivotal for denitrification, for it triggers a cascade of events leading to the synthesis of a full-fledged denitrification proteome. The model is based on the hypothesis that nirS has a low probability (, h−1) of initial transcription, but once initiated, the transcription is greatly enhanced through positive feedback by NO, resulting in the recruitment of the transcribing cell to denitrification. We assume that the recruitment is initiated as [O2] falls below a critical threshold and terminates (assuming energy-limitation) as [O2] exhausts. With = 0.005 h−1, the model robustly simulates observed denitrification kinetics for a range of culture conditions. The resulting (fraction of the cells recruited to denitrification) falls within 0.038–0.161. In contrast, if the recruitment of the entire population is assumed, the simulated denitrification kinetics deviate grossly from those observed. The phenomenon can be understood as a ‘bet-hedging strategy’: switching to denitrification is a gain if anoxic spell lasts long but is a waste of energy if anoxia turns out to be a ‘false alarm’.
Thu, 06 Nov 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/95742014-11-06T00:00:00ZHow and Why Parties Respond to Membership Decline: The Case of the SPD and the CDUhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9573
How and Why Parties Respond to Membership Decline: The Case of the SPD and the CDU
Mjelde, Hilmar Langhelle
Journal article
A dominant assumption in the existing literature on party organisation in Western
Europe holds that parties acquiesce in membership decline because modern
campaigning is capital- rather than labour-intensive. This article studies eight
reform attempts, from 1989 to 2011, by two paradigmatic member- ship parties, the
German SPD and CDU. The examined party documents show that the two parties
still value and seek mass membership. Indeed, most of the proposed reforms are
not attempts at organisational innovation, but have the intention of consolidating
the existing membership organisations. Surprisingly, the parties are concerned
about membership decline not mainly for electoral reasons, but because they value
and wish to preserve their legacy as membership organisations. Secondly, both the
SPD and the CDU documents suggest that the legal-normative imperative of the
German Basic Law requiring parties to sustain democratic linkage necessitates a
membership organisation. Furthermore, the SPD views mass membership as
inherent to social democratic ideology.
Tue, 01 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/95732013-01-01T00:00:00ZResistance to Control—Norwegian Ministries’ and Agencies’ Reactions to Performance Audithttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9569
Resistance to Control—Norwegian Ministries’ and Agencies’ Reactions to Performance Audit
Reichborn-Kjennerud, Kristin
Journal article
Ministries are increasingly subject to control, primarily by State Audit Institutions’. This control is assumed to contribute to improvement. Based on survey data from 353 civil servants in Norway this article analyses the ministries’ and agencies’ responses to the SAIs control. The analysis shows that civil servants in the ministries tend to be less positive to performance audit than civil servants in the agencies. Top executives, irrespective of administrative level, were more negative than middle managers and other public employees. In addition civil servants more exposed to performance audit were, in general, more negative towards it.
Sun, 01 Mar 2015 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/95692015-03-01T00:00:00ZPerformance audit and the importance of the public debatehttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9566
Performance audit and the importance of the public debate
Reichborn-Kjennerud, Kristin
Journal article
The purpose of this article is to explore the impact of performance audit on public policy. The
article investigates performance audit reports and the debates they initiate in the public realm.
The case of Norway is analysed using mixed methods including a questionnaire, mapping and
categorizing of reports, document studies and interviews. The results show that the
Norwegian Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) is primarily preoccupied with managerial issues.
It is nevertheless open to interpretation whether the preoccupation with managerial issues
primarily implies an efficiency and effectiveness focus or an assessment of compliance to
managerial standards. Most reports get moderate attention in the media and in the
parliamentary control committee. Therefore the direct dialogue with the ministries becomes
important for the performance audits’ influence. In the public debate the SAI, the ministries
and the members of parliament base their argumentation in different institutional logics.
These logics can lead to different interpretations of the control system, laws and regulations
and hamper the State Audit Institution’s influence.
Tue, 01 Jul 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/95662014-07-01T00:00:00ZPolitical accountability and performance audit: the case of the auditor general in Norwayhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9560
Political accountability and performance audit: the case of the auditor general in Norway
Reichborn-Kjennerud, Kristin
Journal article
Performance audit is widely used in public administration, but, at present, little empirical evidence exists on its usefulness and contribution to accountability. Based on survey data from 353 civil servants in Norway, this article analyzes the auditees' perceptions of the audit. Performance audit was seen as useful by a majority of the auditees. If auditees agreed to audit criteria and assessments, were allowed to influence the process, had favourable opinions of the reports, and believed that the State Audit Institution contributed to accountability and improvement, then they regarded it as useful. Reports used for accountability purposes were not perceived as less useful. The auditees' administrative level, the use of the report to further interests, and attention from politicians, the media, and the Parliament impacted on the accountability dimension. These results indicate that performance audit can influence civil servants, but the influence is contingent on how the audited civil servants perceive the performance audit.
Sun, 01 Sep 2013 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/95602013-09-01T00:00:00ZHistorical Oslo on a handheld device – a mobile augmented reality applicationhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9460
Historical Oslo on a handheld device – a mobile augmented reality application
Chen, Weiqin
Journal article
Mobile augmented reality (AR) applications can provide just-in-time information based on the user’s preferences and context and
thus improve the tourist experience. Due to various problems, the potential of this technology has yet to be fully exploited. In this
paper, we present the design, implementation and evaluation of a mobile AR application for historical Oslo that aims to bring
history to life by providing historical pictures of a location, depending on the direction in which the camera is pointing. This
application can run offline and is designed as a generic framework where a similar application for a new city can be created by
simply replacing the city-specific database.
Wed, 01 Jan 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/94602014-01-01T00:00:00Z"Når veteraner skal komme helt hjem" -En studie av psykisk skadde veteraner fra internasjonale operasjonerhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9452
"Når veteraner skal komme helt hjem" -En studie av psykisk skadde veteraner fra internasjonale operasjoner
Skjevrak, Pernille Erichsen
Master thesis
Norge er ikke i krig, men om lag 120 000 har siden andre verdenskrig deltatt i internasjonale operasjoner på vegne av staten Norge. Disse individene har dermed en krigserfaring som majoriteten i samfunnet her hjemme ikke kan relatere seg fullt og helt til. Hvilke utfordringer står den enkelte overfor når krigserfaringer påfører dem sterke stressreaksjoner som de tar med seg hjem? Denne oppgaven søker å belyse hvordan veteraner dekker sine behov i det sivile og hvilke mestringsstrategier som tas i bruk når de skal leve med psykisk skade etter deltakelsen.
Analysene viser hvordan veteraner opplever et vanskelig møte med det sivile hjelpeapparatet, og at en konsekvens av dette kan være å la være å søke eller bruke hjelp, men heller bruke egne mestringsstrategier. Videre vises det at veteraner kan oppleve både utfordringer, men også personlige fordeler i møtet med det sivile etter tjeneste. Det vises blant annet gjennom en livsrefleksjon og en stolthet som det i oppgaven forsøkes å belyses tydeligere gjennom teoretiske begreper. Basert på empirien er det tre hovedtemaer som går igjen; Veteranene lager sine egne behandling og mestringsstrategier, Veteranene opplever møtet med sivilt samfunn som vanskelig og veteranene opplever at tjenesten har en verdi som overskrider angeren. Disse tre aspektene forsøkes her å belyses ved hjelp av følgende teoretiske begreper; 1. Parosns «Sykerollen» og hvordan forventninger, fordommer og potensielt stigma, samfunnsmessige føringer og tilhørende erkjennelse og anerkjennelse tenkes å ha sammenheng med hvordan veteraner kommer hjem.
2. Mertons «Anomi», der strukturer utøver press mot individet slik at de handler avvikende, der ulike typer mestringsstrategier er relevant., som det vil vises til i analysen.
3. Bourdieus «Kapital», der det tenkes at den problematiske overgangen kommer til syne gjennom manglende forståelse fra samfunnet, for samfunnet, og vises gjennom en egen kapitalform, og et potensielt manglende felt.
.
Psykisk skadde veteraner har fått stadig mer oppmerksomhet de siste årene, og medieoppslagene har vært mange. Spørsmålet har lenge vært hvordan står det egentlig til med veteranene i Norge? Forskningen har lenge vært mangelfull, men også her får veteranene økt oppmerksomhet og denne oppgaven søker å være et bidrag til å illustrere hvordan hjemkomsten er for de som ikke kommer helt hjem, selv om de gjerne fysisk er i orden.
I 2012 ble den første levekårsundersøkelsen blant norske veteraner gjennomført, og denne brukes for å danne et bilde av hvem veteranene er og hvordan de levekårsmessig har det sammenlignet med befolkningen for øvrig. Dette er interessant nettopp fordi forskningen er såpass ny, men samtidig egner ikke disse dataene seg alene til og si hvordan veteranene har det, særlig de som er psykisk skadd. Derfor har det blitt gjort kvalitative intervjuer med psykisk skadde veteraner som gir et innblikk i hvordan ulike mestringsstrategier brukes når individet skal lære seg å leve med skaden.
Fri, 30 Jan 2015 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/94522015-01-30T00:00:00ZNår to pluss to blir mer enn fire- en eksperimentell undersøkelse av spesialisering og byttehttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9451
Når to pluss to blir mer enn fire- en eksperimentell undersøkelse av spesialisering og bytte
Janbu, Åshild Folkvord
Master thesis
Crocett m.fl. publiserte i 2009 et eksperiment som omhandlet en
markedsøkonomi sin evne til å oppdage, innføre og utnytte
spesialisering og bytte. Eksperimentets design tok utgangspunkt i
David Ricardo sin teori om komparative fortrinn- at mennesker i
utgangspunktet er forskjellig, og dermed har en produksjonsfordel.
Ved å utnytte denne produksjonsfordelen, oppnår de en økonomisk
fordel. Resultatene viste at deltakerne oppdaget spesialisering og
bytte i de aller fleste tilfeller.
I denne masteroppgaven ønsker jeg å undersøke de samme
problemstillingene omkring evner til å oppdage spesialisering og
bytte, men med en annen tilnærming. Følgende spørsmål er stilt;
kan spesialisering og bytte oppstå selv om byttepartene i
utgangspunktet er like? Eksperimentet er designet slik at deltakerne
selv må velge sine produksjonsfortrinn, i henhold til de
forutsetninger som er lagt på økonomien. Bakgrunnen for dette
tilnærmingen er Adam Smith sin teori om at spesialisering og bytte
kun oppstår som følger av en felles annerkjennelse om at
økonomisk gevinst er tilgjengelig.
Resultatene viser at deltakerne oppdager både bytte og
spesialisering. Vi finner ingen statistisk signifikant forskjell i grad av
bytte mellom gruppene som mottar ulike økonomiske omgivelser.
Den ikke-parametriske testen finner heller ingen forskjell på
sesjonsnivå. Dataene viser likevel at deltakerne med asymmetriske
omgivelser bruker noe lengre tid på å oppdage den paretooptimale
allokeringen av varer, og at variasjonen rundt predikert byttepris
avtar raskere for deltakere med symmetrisk teknologi.
Dataprogrammet STATA/IC 13.1 er benyttet i analysen. Institutt for
Økonomi, Det Samfunnsvitenskapelige Fakultet og veileder Sigve
Tjøtta finansierte prosjektet.
Mon, 02 Feb 2015 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/94512015-02-02T00:00:00ZEn empirisk analyse av jobbmobilitet mellom offentlig og privat sektorhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9450
En empirisk analyse av jobbmobilitet mellom offentlig og privat sektor
Sognefest-Haaland, Johanne
Master thesis
Offentlig sektor har vært gjennom en rekke
reformer siden 1980-tallet. Disse reformene har
endret sammensetningen av arbeidsstyrken i
offentlig sektor. Spørsmålet som stilles i
denne oppgaven, er hvilke konsekvenser dette
har fått for jobbmobiliteten mellom privat og
offentlig sektor.
Dette er forsøkt besvart ved hjelp av en
empirisk analyse av bakgrunnsvariablenes effekt
på sannsynligheten for tre ulike insidenser:
Sektorskifte, skifte fra privat til offentlig
sektor eller skifte fra offentlig til privat
sektor. Referansepunktet for tolkningen av
resultatene er forskning fra Norge på
tilsvarende tema fra slutten av 90-tallet.
Resultatene viser at det er forskjell mellom
ansatte i offentlig og privat sektor når det
kommer til sektormobilitet. Inntekt ser ut til
å ha størst betydning for mobiliteten fra
privat til offentlig sektor i form av en
negativ relasjon. Inntekt under gjennomsnittet
for egen yrkesgruppe har positiv effekt på
kvinners tilbøyelighet til å gå til offentlig
sektor, men ikke motsatt vei. Vi observerer
også store forskjeller mellom sektorene når det
gjelder betydningen av utdanning. Sammenlignet
med øvrige ansatte i privat sektor, viser
resultatene at ansatte med høyere utdanning har
større tilbøyelighet til å gå til offentlig
sektor. For overgang til privat sektor,
tenderer effekten av økt utdanning mot å være
negativ. Resultatene tyder på at det er
forskjell i etterspørsel og tilbud etter høyt
utdannet arbeidskraft i sektorene, der høyt
utdannede kan ha preferanse for offentlig
sektor, eller er en foretrukken kompetanse fra
offentlig sektors side. Vi har ikke funnet
støtte til en motsyklisk relasjon mellom
arbeidsledighetsraten og overgang til privat
sektor, men resultatene fra en separat
regresjon av årsdummyenes effekt på
overgangene, viser at andel offentlig ansatte
som går til privat sektor følger
konjunkturutviklingen.
Mon, 02 Feb 2015 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/94502015-02-02T00:00:00Z"Det er de som har makten". Ein kvalitativ studie av bussjåførar si oppleving av å vere i ein trepartsrelasjon etter at kollektivtrafikken vart sett ut på anbodhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9441
"Det er de som har makten". Ein kvalitativ studie av bussjåførar si oppleving av å vere i ein trepartsrelasjon etter at kollektivtrafikken vart sett ut på anbod
Tangerås, Karoline
Master thesis
Denne studien omhandlar korleis bussjåførar opplever det å vere i ein trepartsrelasjon med trafikkselskapet (Trafikkselskapet) dei er tilsett i og fylkeskommunen (Driftselskapet) som dei gjere ein jobb for. Problemstilling som har styrt denne oppgåva er: Korleis har maktforholdet i tilsetjingsrelasjonen og arbeidssituasjonen for bussjåførane endra seg etter at kollektivtrafikken vart sett ut på anbod? Denne problemstillinga er interessant fordi det viktig å undersøkje korleis trepartsrelasjonar påverkar arbeidarane. Kva har endra seg og korleis merkar bussjåførane dette? Eg intervjua ni bussjåførar kring tema som makt, arbeidssituasjon, arbeidsforhold og tilhøyrsle. Dette vart gjort for å kunne få deira opplevingar og meiningar kring trepartsrelasjonen dei er i. Det er viktig å undersøkje korleis arbeidarar opplever det å vere i ein trepartsrelasjon for å kunne i vareta deira rettigheiter som tilsette. Det vert meir utbreitt med trepartsrelasjonar i arbeidslivet og det er naudsynt å ha eit fokus på dette. Det kjem fram i intervjua at maktforholdet mellom Driftselskapet og Trafikkselskapet vert oppfatta som skeivt. Denne skeivfordelinga av makt påverkar arbeidssituasjonen til informantane og deira mogelegheit til å kunne påverke sin eigen arbeidskvardag. Innskrenka mogelegheita til å kunne påverke sin eigen arbeidskvardag er noko som påverkar informantane si kjensle av tilhøyrsle og tillit til Trafikkselskapet. Auka jobbkrav, mindre trivsel og tidspress er noko som informantane fortel om og som vert oppfatta av dei som noko av årsaka til auka stress og høgt sjukefråvær.
Thu, 04 Jul 2013 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/94412013-07-04T00:00:00ZFrom musical expressivity to public political discourse proper: the case of Karpe Diem in the aftermath of the Utøya massacrehttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9405
From musical expressivity to public political discourse proper: the case of Karpe Diem in the aftermath of the Utøya massacre
Nærland, Torgeir Uberg
Journal article
Musical communication is widely understood to be too elusive and abstract to
have any discernible significance for political public discourse. However, in the
aftermath of the Utøya-massacre there have been several instances where hip hop
music and performances have been subjected to politicised debate in the
Norwegian public sphere. Based on a qualitative case study of the media reception
of the Norwegian hip hop group, Karpe Diem, this study finds that their music both
provoked, and fed into, extensive public debates concerning topical cultural and
political issues. Moreover, this study outlines the process through which Karpe
Diem and their music came to be publicly identified, and responded to, as
politically significant. Based on the evidence of the findings, this article further
argues that hip hop music fills a peripheral (yet significant) function in the model of
the political system as outlined by Habermas (2006).
Thu, 01 Jan 2015 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/94052015-01-01T00:00:00ZRhythm, Rhyme and Reason: Hip Hop Expressivity as Political Discoursehttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9403
Rhythm, Rhyme and Reason: Hip Hop Expressivity as Political Discourse
Nærland, Torgeir Uberg
Journal article
Using Norwegian hip hop as an example, this article argues that public sphere theory offers a fruitful theoretical framework in which to understand the political significance of music. Based on a musical and lyrical analysis of Lars Vaular's ‘Kem Skjøt Siv Jensen’ (Who Shot Siv Jensen) – a song that recently became the subject of extensive public political discourse in Norway – this article first highlights how the aesthetic language specific to hip hop music constitutes a form of political discourse that may be particularly effective in addressing and engaging publics. Further, the analysis brings attention to how hip hop music is characterised by phatic, rhetoric, affective and dramatic modes of communication that may be of value to democratic public discourse. Lastly, this article examines the expressive output of ‘Kem Skjøt Siv Jensen’ in light of Habermas' concept of communicative rationality. In conclusion, the article contends that the dichotomy between (‘rational’) verbal argument and (‘irrational’) musical expressivity constructed within public sphere theory is contrived and, moreover, that hip hop expressivity under certain conditions does conform to the standards of communicative rationality.
Thu, 28 Aug 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/94032014-08-28T00:00:00ZMusic and the public sphere: Exploring the political significance of Norwegian hip hop music through the lens of public sphere theoryhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9402
Music and the public sphere: Exploring the political significance of Norwegian hip hop music through the lens of public sphere theory
Nærland, Torgeir Uberg
Doctoral thesis
<p>This thesis explores the political significance of Norwegian hip hop music through the lens of public sphere theory. It empirically investigates the role of music in the public sphere, and, probes key theoretical concepts from public sphere theory and democratic theory in regards to the perspectives these offer on the political significance of music. Thus, this thesis uses specific cases studies to address a wider question, namely, how to understand aesthetics and expressive culture within the theoretical framework of deliberative democracy.</p><p>The thesis consists of four independent articles, respectively exploring the following aspects of hip hop music as an aesthetic and political practice: audience, production, text and reception. The first article, a quantitative survey conducted among young politicians, asks broadly, how musical taste relates to political orientation and social background, and what genres or types of music are perceived to have political significance today.</p><p>The second article is an interview study of key actors on the Norwegian hip hop-scene. Set within the framework of public sphere theory this article asks to what extent the motivations and aesthetic practices of Norwegian hip hop artists are relevant to public discourse.</p><p>The third article is a musical and lyrical analysis of Lars Vaular's hit "Kem Skjøt Siv Jensen" (“Who Shot Siv Jensen?”). This article examines how the musical and lyrical characteristics of the song constitute the song as political discourse. It then discusses the expressive characteristics of the song, first, in light of recent theoretical revisions of Habermas' theory of the public sphere, and second, in light of Habermas' concept of communicative rationality.</p><p>The fourth article is a qualitative analysis of the public reception of Karpe Diem's hit "Toyota'n til Magdi" (“Magdi’s Toyota”). This article charts and analyses the effects that this song had on public political discourse, and then discusses democratic value of these effects in light of public sphere theory.</p>This thesis empirically establishes that, contrasted with other musical genres in Norway, hip hop is a genre invested with political value, and that performers maintain a general commitment to addressing socio-political issues in their music, through aesthetic practices with potentially high relevance to public discourse. The thesis further elucidates how genre-specific expressive characteristics enable hip hop to function as aesthetically constituted public political discourse, and further empirically demonstrates how popular music under certain conditions may figure as an integral part of deliberative democracy by providing valuable input to discursive processes in the public sphere.</p><p>Theoretically, this thesis contributes to the existing research literature by empirically substantiating theoretical conceptions of the role of expressive culture and music in deliberative democracy. One of this thesis’ main contributions is that it demonstrates that public sphere theory offers a fruitful and distinct perspective through which to understand the politics of music. Furthermore, the thesis empirically substantiates how Habermas’ 2006 model of the political system offers an anatomy within which one can meaningfully understand the role of music in the wider context of deliberative democracy. Moreover, the thesis further contributes to scholarly debate by problematising the dichotomy between ‘rational’ and verbal communication, and, “non-rational” musical communication. </p>
Wed, 21 Jan 2015 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/94022015-01-21T00:00:00Z«Et politisk korrekt dogme»: Islamkritikeres sosiale forestilling om islamisering og en politisk korrekt offentlig sfærehttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9368
«Et politisk korrekt dogme»: Islamkritikeres sosiale forestilling om islamisering og en politisk korrekt offentlig sfære
Rambøl, Astrid-Kristine Hauge
Master thesis
Denne oppgaven tar for seg norske islamkritikeres forestillinger om
verden og hvordan det virker inn på deres deltagelse i den
offentlige sfæren. Etter 22. juli 2011 har kritikk av innvandring
generelt, og fra muslimske land spesielt, fått større oppmerksomhet
i Norge, og tre år etter tragedien debatteres det ennå hvordan
samfunnet skal møte islamkritiske og islamfiendtlige holdninger.
I nyere tid har det blitt forsket relativt lite på høyreekstreme og
høyreradikale miljøer i Norge, og enda mindre på deres
verdensforståelse og opplevelse av egen rolle i den offentlige
sfæren. Denne oppgaven tar for seg hva som motiverer
islamkritikere til å ytre seg kritisk til islam, og undersøke hvordan
de begrunner sin skepsis mot islam. Jeg undersøker også hvordan
islamkritikere opplever at de selv og deres meningsfeller blir
oppfattet i offentligheten, og i hvilken grad de opplever at deres
meninger kommer frem i den offentlige debatten. Oppgaven
baserer seg på elleve kvalitative intervjuer med personer som under
eget navn gjentatte ganger har ytret seg kritisk til islam på nettet.
Som utgangspunkt for analysen står to etablerte sosiale
forestillinger: Forestillingen om globalisering og forestillingen om
den offentlige sfære og demokratisk selvstyre. I lys av disse to
etablerte sosiale forestillingene skisserer jeg opp det jeg har valgt å
kalle informantenes forestilling om islamisering og informantenes
forestilling om en politisk korrekt offentlig sfære. Hovedtrekkene i
førstnevnte forestilling er en tanke om at muslimer har en plan om,
og er i ferd med, å «ta over» Norge og Europa. Dette skjer dels
gjennom demografisk utvikling, men også ved at den politiske
venstresiden tilrettelegger for «islamiseringen» av Norge.
Forestillingen om en politisk korrekt offentlig sfære innebærer at
islamkritikere ikke får komme til orde i offentligheten. Mediene blir
styrt eller påvirket av den politiske venstresiden, og det som ikke er
«politisk korrekt» slipper ikke til. Informantene opplever at et
flertall av den norske befolkningen deler deres holdninger til islam
og muslimer, og dermed at flertallets mening ikke kommer frem i
den offentlige sfære. Forestillingen om demokratiet og mulighet til
demokratisk deltagelse har betydning for hvordan demokratiet
fungerer. Avslutningsvis i oppgaven analyserer jeg derfor
informantenes sosiale forestillinger i lys av Chantal Mouffes teori
om antagonisme og agonisme i demokratiske samfunn.
Antall ord i hovedteksten: 35 089 ord
Mon, 15 Dec 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/93682014-12-15T00:00:00ZThe effect of hospital mergers on long-term sickness absence among hospital employees: a fixed effects multivariate regression analysis using panel datahttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9311
The effect of hospital mergers on long-term sickness absence among hospital employees: a fixed effects multivariate regression analysis using panel data
Kjekshus, Lars Erik; Bernstrøm, Vilde Hoff; Dahl, Espen; Lorentzen, Thomas
Journal article
<p>Background: Hospitals are merging to become more cost-effective. Mergers are often complex and difficult processes with variable outcomes. The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of mergers on long-term sickness absence among hospital employees.</p>
<p>Methods: Long-term sickness absence was analyzed among hospital employees (N = 107 209) in 57 hospitals involved in 23 mergers in Norway between 2000 and 2009. Variation in long-term sickness absence was explained through a fixed effects multivariate regression analysis using panel data with years-since-merger as the independent variable.</p>
<p>Results: We found a significant but modest effect of mergers on long-term sickness absence in the year of the merger, and in years 2, 3 and 4; analyzed by gender there was a significant effect for women, also for these years, but only in year 4 for men. However, men are less represented among the hospital workforce; this could explain the lack of significance.</p>
<p>Conclusions: Mergers has a significant effect on employee health that should be taken into consideration when deciding to merge hospitals. This study illustrates the importance of analyzing the effects of mergers over several years and the need for more detailed analyses of merger processes and of the changes that may occur as a result of such mergers.</p>
Mon, 03 Feb 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/93112014-02-03T00:00:00ZIdretts påvirkning på mestringstro. En evaluering av judotrening i Zambiahttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9277
Idretts påvirkning på mestringstro. En evaluering av judotrening i Zambia
Moland, Ole Gjerrestad
Master thesis
Det hevdes ofte at idrettsbistand kan forbedre liv
og produsere resultater innen for felt som
tusenårsmålene, HIV og Aids eller generell
karakterbygging. Påstandene er ofte udokumenterte
og effekten av bistandsformen er usikker. Feltet
har opplevd sterk vekst de senere årene, men med
usikker effekt på investering i bistanden er det
vanskelig å forsvare veksten Det finnes en rekke
påstander om gevinster av idrettsaktiviteter. En
av dem er at idrett gir utøverne bedre selvtillit.
Denne oppgaven undersøker dette gjennom et
felteksperiment i Zambia hvor det ble opprettet to
judoklubber. Treningsdeltakerne ble intervjuet
etter tre måneder med trening. Resultatene
sammenlignes med en kontrollgruppe fra samme
område.
Etter å ha organisert judotrening i tre måneder og
gjennomført intervjuer fant vi en positiv effekt
på fysisk mestringstro, eller fysisk selvtillit.
Effekten på variablene om Løping og Styrke var
negativ, men usikker. Treningsdeltakerne fikk
likevel økt tro på egne evner i
idrettskonkurranser. De mente dermed at de hverken
var blitt sterkere eller fått bedre kondisjon enn
gjennomsnittet, men troen på å vinne og gjøre det
godt i en idrettskonkurranse økte. Da må det være
noe med judotreningen, utenom rent fysiske
egenskaper som driver effekten. De har fått økt
tro på egne evner, eller bedre selvtillit.
Mon, 01 Dec 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/92772014-12-01T00:00:00ZImplementering av ny teknologi - en samfunnsøkonomisk tilnærminghttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9276
Implementering av ny teknologi - en samfunnsøkonomisk tilnærming
Skjold, Aleksander Alvheim
Master thesis
Dette studiet har som formål å belyse de potensielle gevinstene ved implementering av MPD, samt studere hvordan nye teknologier kan implementeres på en mest mulig effektiv måte. Implementering av boreteknikken trykkstyrt boring (MPD) kan på norsk sokkel gi en verdiøkning på 7,2 milliarder NOK frem mot 2030. Bruttoverdien, som inkluderer FoU aktiviteter samt leverandørindustriens omsetning, overstiger 22 milliarder NOK. Selv om dokumentasjonen er god på at MPD vil gi mange fordeler, har bransjen utvist skepsis mot å ta den i bruk. Skepsisen skyldes flere ulike grunner, blant annet lite driftssikker teknologi og manglende kunnskap blant både oljeselskaper og leverandører. Det innovative selskapet Siem WIS har utviklet en trykkrelatert kontroll komponent (PCD), som er en av hovedkomponentene i en MPD operasjon. Utstyret har kommet godt ut av omfattende tester og prøveboringer, men kommersialiseringen har ikke gått like fort som eierne av Siem WIS hadde estimert. Selskapet ble opprettet i 2005, og har på grunn av den lange forsknings-, utviklings- og kommersialiseringsfasen, møtt på finansieringsutfordringer underveis. Siem WIS representerer et mangfold av innovative selskaper som av ulike årsaker sliter med å få implementert sine innovasjoner. Samfunnet står i fare for å miste nyttige oppfinnelser og teknologier som potensielt sett kan bidra til økt samfunnsøkonomisk lønnsomhet.
For å belyse de potensielle gevinstene ved implementering av MPD har jeg anvendt Rystad rapporten, som er en omfattende nytte- kostnadsanalyse for implementering av MPD på flytende boreinnretning på norsk sokkel. For å studere hvordan ny teknologi kan implementeres på mest mulig effektiv måte er det i studiene gjennomført kvantitative og kvalitative forskningsmetoder i form av henholdsvis spørreundersøkelse og semistrukturerte intervjuer.
Mon, 01 Dec 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/92762014-12-01T00:00:00ZKunnskapsdeling i en prosjektbasert organisasjon? En studie av læringsmekanismer i en prosjektbasert organisasjon innen vedlikehold og modifikasjonhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9275
Kunnskapsdeling i en prosjektbasert organisasjon? En studie av læringsmekanismer i en prosjektbasert organisasjon innen vedlikehold og modifikasjon
Lexander, Maren Ibsen
Master thesis
I denne studien tar jeg utgangspunkt i et paradoks jeg finner i litteraturen om læring i prosjektbaserte organisasjoner. Hvor organisering i prosjekter på den ene siden legger til rette for å skape ny kunnskap, hindrer organisasjonsformen på den andre siden deling av denne kunnskapen (Bakker et.al. 2010, Morris 2012). Jeg undersøker hvilke læringsmekanismer som finnes i en prosjektbasert organisasjon, som følge av Prencipe og Tell (2001), og hvordan disse brukes (Swan, Scarbrough og Newell 2010). Jeg studerer dette i en prosjektbasert organisasjon som leverer tjenester innen vedlikehold og modifikasjon mot offshoreinstallasjoner, hvor det er et stort fokus på å sikre helse, miljø og sikkerhet.
Funnene mine viser at det ikke er et like entydig fenomen som paradokset her tilsier. Jeg finner et stort antall av læringsmekanismer som organisasjonsmedlemmene har tilgang til. De er på ulike organisasjonsnivåer, individ-, prosjekt-, disiplin- og organisasjonsnivå, og gjennom ulike læringsprosesser, erfaringsakkumulering, kunnskapsartikulering og kunnskapskodifisering. Bruken av de ulike læringsmekanismene som finnes i organisasjonen er veldig variabel og differensiert. Videre finner jeg at kunden påvirker læringsmekanismene i organisasjonen, en mengde av læringsmekanismene i organisasjonen er utviklet av kunden, som organisasjonen må bruke for å levere prosjektene. Når det kommer til bruk av læringsmekanismene finner jeg tre skiller. Læringsmekanismene brukes i større grad når de er knyttet til å løse prosjektene enn om de «bare» skal dele kunnskap. «Lessons learnt»-møter prioriteres høyere på fagdisiplinene enn i prosjektene, og læringsmekanismer for kunnskapskodifisering brukes mer i prosjektene enn i disiplinene. Rapportering av prosjektdokumentasjon gjøres i større grad enn å hente opp dokumentasjon fra avsluttede prosjekter. Å utnytte erfaringsdata, gjøres derimot i stor grad i forhold til å rapportere egne erfaringer og feil. Disse ulikhetene ses opp mot målsetninger i organisasjonens enheter og sosialt skapte normer og regler i organisasjonen og dens enheter.
Mon, 01 Dec 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/92752014-12-01T00:00:00ZNorsk lakseoppdrett: Optimal investering med hensyn til eksogen oppdrettsformuehttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9267
Norsk lakseoppdrett: Optimal investering med hensyn til eksogen oppdrettsformue
Larsen, Torhild Østenå
Master thesis
Mange investorer fokuserer kun på forventet avkastning tilknyttet sin disponible formue når de skal investere i usikre verdipapirer, og tar ikke hensyn til sin totalformue. Totalformue består gjerne av en disponibel investeringsformue og en fastlåst formue man beholder uavhengig risiko og forventet avkastning. Denne oppgaven viser hvordan man reduserer risikoen til totalformuen for en gitt forventet avkastning ved å ta hensyn til eksogen formue i investeringsbeslutningen.
Oppgaven ser spesifikt på norsk lakseoppdrett. Man betrakter et individ med en totalformue som inkluderer usikre verdipapirinvesteringer og en oppdrettsformue. Verdien på oppdrettsformuen er usikker og individet ønsker å opprettholde sin eierposisjon i oppdrettsforetaket uavhengig av forventet avkastning og risiko. Denne oppgaven viser at individet oppnår en gevinst i form av økt meravkastning ved å holde en portefølje som tar hensyn til oppdrettsformuen fremfor en portefølje uten hensyn til oppdrettsformuen. Noe som indikerer at individet risikerer å gå glipp av en risikofri gevinst ved og ikke ta hensyn til oppdrettsformuen i investeringsbeslutninger.
Mon, 01 Dec 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/92672014-12-01T00:00:00ZLAR og rusavhengiges økonomiske hverdag - En surveystudie av de åpne russcenene i Nygårdsparken og i Vågsbunnenhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9266
LAR og rusavhengiges økonomiske hverdag - En surveystudie av de åpne russcenene i Nygårdsparken og i Vågsbunnen
Sandnes, Sondre Holm
Master thesis
Dette masterprosjektet i samfunnsøkonomi tar for seg å beskrive og analysere økonomiske problemstillinger rundt de rusavhengige som oppholder seg i de åpne russcenene i Bergen, med et fokus på Legemiddelassistert Rehabilitering. En annen hensikt med prosjektet er å gi en beskrivelse av bo- og arbeidsmarkedssituasjonen til denne gruppen, da rusavhengige ofte mangler fast bolig og er lite aktive i det tradisjonelle arbeidsmarkedet.
Rusfeltet er preget av et sterkt innslag av svart økonomi og ulovlige aktiviteter - særlig når det gjelder inntekt fra stoffsalg, vinningskriminalitet og prostitusjon. Det er derfor interessant studere disse fenomenene da det finnes lite informasjon i offentlige statistikker.
Datamaterialet i oppgaven er samlet inn fra rusavhengige som oppholdt seg i de åpne russcenene i Nygårdsparken og i Vågsbunnen (n = 88). Spørreundersøkelse er benyttet som metode. De sentrale funnene i prosjektet er at rusavhengige i LAR sjeldnere oppgir salg av narkotika blant sine tre viktigste inntektskilder, har mindre utgifter til heroin hver dag og er sjeldnere bostedsløse eller bor i en midlertidig bosituasjon enn heroinmisbrukere som ikke er i Legemiddelassistert Rehabilitering. Studien klarer ikke å finne noen effekt av LAR på utgifter til amfetamin, arbeidsmarkedsdeltagelse eller vinningskriminalitet.
Sun, 30 Nov 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/92662014-11-30T00:00:00ZNavigating Multiple Temporalities: Continuities, Ruptures and Rituals among Young Alteños in Morales' Boliviahttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9263
Navigating Multiple Temporalities: Continuities, Ruptures and Rituals among Young Alteños in Morales' Bolivia
Grøholt, Osmund Engelbregt Bøhmer
Master thesis
At issue in this thesis is the lives of the first urban generation in an ex-miners' neighbourhood of El Alto, Bolivia. Previous studies on temporality and memory in the Andes have not focused specifically on the category of urban youth'. This is despite the fact that such studies have often pointed out that the urban young differ from those in the countryside in the way they approach and relate to time. Based on ethnographic data collected through participant observation from June to December in 2013, I seek to understand what I argue to be complex and multiple temporalities shaping the urban youth's lives. As a vantage point to understand multiple and socially experienced temporalities, I draw on what Gell (1992) calls A-series time'. A general argument that will be made is that religious and non-religious rituals, such as annual commemorations involving dance, work temporally in the way that through them people create and negotiate ruptures and continuities with the past and future.
Fri, 12 Dec 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/92632014-12-12T00:00:00ZSoftware estimation process: a comparison of the estimation practice between Norway and Spainhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9262
Software estimation process: a comparison of the estimation practice between Norway and Spain
Salaberria Munoz, Paul
Master thesis
This research presents a comparative study regarding the current
state of the software estimation practice in Norway and Spain. A
survey was conducted within the software in- dustry in both
countries, and the results are analyzed and discussed in this thesis.
Significant differences are found in how companies in these two
countries estimate software projects. Estimation methods, units,
agile techniques, participants and their respective roles, as well as
to what extent the customer can influence the estimation process,
are some of the main topics presented. The selection of
development methods might have been a key factor be- hind the
differences we find in the estimation process between the company
samples in Norway and Spain.
Mon, 01 Dec 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/92622014-12-01T00:00:00ZUsing Genetic Programming for Agents in Non-Deterministic Gameshttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9252
Using Genetic Programming for Agents in Non-Deterministic Games
Johansen, Bjarte
Master thesis
The aim of this thesis is to explore the possibility of using Genetic Programming
to create agents that play non-deterministic games at a human level. The game that
is used to test the hypothesis is Ms. Pac-Man; an old arcade game. The reason
for choosing this game is that there is a competition whose object it is to create
an agent for the game only using the visual data of the game. This allows me to
compare my results against human players and, others who have been trying to
solve the same problem. The best score a human has achieved is 921,360 points by
Abdner Ashman in 2005, while the agents in the competition have only received a
score of 36,280 points.
A modified emulator is used to run the original binary of the game. The
modifications are made to allow the agents easier access to key properties of the
game. They also make it possible to run the game as a background process, which
allows more than one emulator to run in parallel over multiple machines. This
makes it easier to run larger populations over many generations.
The ideas around how to solve the problem sees large changes during the
development of the project. A path-finding algorithm, A*, is introduced to decrease
the search space for the GP Library. The algorithm is modified by the agents to
control where to move.
Even though the results from the thesis are not as good as hoped, we do see
agents that perform near competition level. The late discovery of a bug in the
game-API made progress difficult. Especially since a large amount of time was
used on different solutions to the problem that proved ineffective. However, the
thesis does show that it is possible to make agents, through Genetic Programming,
that improves when playing non-deterministic games. Further research is needed
to show if this approach may prove better than humans at playing Ms. Pac-Man.
Wed, 01 Aug 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/92522012-08-01T00:00:00ZClose elections and turnout: The margin of victory and horseshoes in comparative perspectivehttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9173
Close elections and turnout: The margin of victory and horseshoes in comparative perspective
Andersson, Mikael Johnny Poul Johannesson
Master thesis
More people decide to vote when the race is
close than when it is not. This is arguably the
most consistent finding in aggregate-level
research on turnout. However, studies in recent
years using multilevel analysis consistently
tend not to find any such link at the
individual-level. My motivation for this thesis
was to uncover the reason for this puzzling
inconsistency. I argue that closeness indeed
can affects the decision to vote, but that this
effect is contingent and indirect. The changes
in aggregate turnout is the result of different
mechanisms affecting different people in
different situations. In this endeavor, instead
of asking if closeness of elections affects the
decision to vote, I therefore ask, for whom
might it do so?
I use several theories from across the social
sciences, and propose five different hypotheses
for whom closeness might count and why that is.
I hypothesize that (i) although closeness of
election only affect those without a habit of
voting; (ii) it fuels cognitive engagement for
those that are interested in the election; and
(iii) it fuels interest in the election for
those who are educated or (iv) feel close to a
particular party. In general, it should (v)
affect the decision to vote indirectly through
interest in the election. To test these
hypotheses I use multilevel regression models
and mediation analysis on cross-national survey
data from the Comparative Study of Electoral
System. I calculate closeness of election in a
novel way so that it is comparable across
different electoral systems. The complete data
set includes 35,913 respondents from
legislative elections in 26 countries between
2006 and 2011. Although too inconclusive for
hypothesis v, the empirical analysis lend clear
support for hypotheses i-iv. Indeed, the
regression models indicate no statistically
significant relationship when looking at the
mean; only when controlling for the right
things and looking in the right place do we see
how closeness may help shape political
behavior. The results clearly supports the
notion that closeness of elections can affect
the decision to vote, for some people in some
situations. This contributes to an empirical
foundation and understanding for the role of
closeness of election in shaping turnout. It
also highlights how combining different
theoretical approaches can help uncover the
more complex ways in which different factors
interact in shaping political participation.
Thu, 20 Nov 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/91732014-11-20T00:00:00Z"Keeping it real in Beijing"; Exploring identity, authenticity and music as a 'technology of the self' among urban middle-class youthhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9172
"Keeping it real in Beijing"; Exploring identity, authenticity and music as a 'technology of the self' among urban middle-class youth
Blåsternes, Eirik
Master thesis
Abstract:
With this anthropological master-thesis I am exploring urban middle-class youth in Beijing, born during the 1980s, and how they navigate and express themselves as individuals and as part of collectives. I spent one and a half year of participant-observation in Beijing (from autumn 2012 until spring 2014) focusing on hip-hop music, leisure activities and cultural production. This is founding the empirical material of this thesis, as I am analyzing the relationship between creative youth cultures and the larger social and political developments in which it is connected. Since the opening-up-reforms of the 1980s, China has been going through rapid social, political and economic developments. These processes of modernization are fertilizing the urban population with a flux of cultural consumption possibilities and play an important role in subject formation. As processes of individualization unfolds in China, the state is placing higher autonomy on the individual's freedom to choose, inspiring people to take responsibility for their own actions on the one hand, while attempting to control the individual's choice and responsibility towards idealized goals on the other. This creates frictions in which individual choices does not always cohere with the expectations of the public discourse. These frictions have a significant effect on how contemporary youth behave and understand themselves in relation to others.
I am presenting detailed empirical description of the hip-hop environment in Beijing, and analyze how social boundaries affect processes of identification, and how desires and dissatisfactions become articulated through their cultural practice. We will get to know how youth embrace the freedom to choose their own path, and how contradictions and challenges in subject formation become realized, expressed and contested. Scholars are portraying the Chinese 80s generation as young and hopeful fun-seekers on the one side, and socially pressured, success driven pragmatics on the other. This is shaping a clear distinction between a fun-seeking private sphere and a more pressured and pragmatic public sphere. However, the boundaries of these spheres become fluid and overlapping as Chinese hip-hop artists and fans publicly resist overarching ideals in society and are continuously pushing the boundaries of what is acceptable behavior and not.
I am analyzing how hip-hop, as an American invention, becomes adopted, incorporated and expressed as an authentic cultural practice in China. Standards and measurements of validation within the hip-hop environment serve as a tool binding the participants of the environment together as a distinct group-formation. I find that expressions of authenticity' within the hip-hop environment are closely related to processes of identification and self-expression. Music constitutes subjectification and serves as a tool for individuals to communicate and interpret each other, in a flux of communicative variations upon social interaction. People are able to form and express self-identity and subjectivity in music, and creatively shape social relationships based on similarity' and difference', familiarity' and strangeness' as social interaction unfolds. In this way, music may help us to understand how urban youth navigate as individuals and part of collectives in contemporary China.
Thu, 27 Nov 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/91722014-11-27T00:00:00ZSupporting coach-player communication in organised sports teams with rockEnrollhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9170
Supporting coach-player communication in organised sports teams with rockEnroll
Sundfjord, Yngve
Master thesis
Situations frequently occur where players on
organised sports teams do not show up
for scheduled activity without having notified
the coach in advance, as it often requires
extra effort from the coach. This happens
despite the fact that players have a vast array
of communication technologies available, and
should be able to efficiently communicate
their intended absence in a heartbeat.
This thesis is intended as a starting point for
research on communication between player
and coaches, and how information technology can
contribute in this context. The goal
of the research was to understand how players
and coaches currently communicate, to
investigate if a specialised, novel information
technology could improve communication,
and to provide design guidelines for future
development of similar information technolo-
gies. In order to achieve the research goals, a
prototype web application, rockEnroll,
was developed.
The prototype was developed in two iterations.
Web surveys were administered to
investigate the current situation and gain a
greater understanding of the user groups
needs. Heuristic evaluation was used to improve
upon the first version of the prototype,
while a usability test was carried out after
development had been completed. In addition,
an extensive field study involved testing the
prototype on real users.
The results showed that Facebook and SMS is
currently the dominating technologies
of communication, however, it was discovered
that these current technologies seemed
unsuitable to automatically aggregate
information from players and provide a visual
overview over attendance for an activity. The
data collected did not conclusively estab-
lish that rockEnroll improved communication,
but suggested that improved versions of
rockEnroll has the potential to greatly improve
communication. Making the technology
the solution of least effort, designing an
accompanying native or hybrid app and (or
alternatively) providing Facebook integration
is recommended in order for an extension
of rockEnroll or another novel system to
successfully improve communication.
Mon, 20 Oct 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/91702014-10-20T00:00:00ZEntreprenørskap og regional utvikling i Nordhordlandhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9157
Entreprenørskap og regional utvikling i Nordhordland
Haugen, Sondre Sognnes
Master thesis
Oppgåva handlar om entreprenørskap i
Nordhordland. Den tek føre seg
entreprenørskapets betyding for
sysselsetjingsutvikling i regionen, samt kva
næringar entreprenørskapet skapar nye
arbeidsplassar innanfor. Oppgåva omfattar også
casestudiar som belyser kva erfaringar
entreprenørar i Nordhordland har med etablering
og drift av nye føretak i regionen.
Sun, 16 Nov 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/91572014-11-16T00:00:00Z«Fremtiden ser svart ut» - En studie av statushierarki, kollektivt minne og generasjoner i svartmetallmiljøet i Bergen.http://hdl.handle.net/1956/9156
«Fremtiden ser svart ut» - En studie av statushierarki, kollektivt minne og generasjoner i svartmetallmiljøet i Bergen.
Berentsen, Håvard
Master thesis
Denne studien ser på hvilke mekanismer som er avgjørende for å bestemme statushierarkiet i svartmetallmiljøet i Bergen. Norsk svartmetall fikk enormt mye oppmerksomhet på 90-tallet grunnet flere kontroversielle hendelser. Dette omfatter flere kirkebranner, to drap, et selvmord, samt tilknytning til ekstreme ideologier som satanisme, odinisme og nynazisme. I de senere årene har man sett at miljøet har blitt mer eller mindre stuerent.
Det teoretiske utgangspunktet for oppgaven er Norbert Elias sine figurasjonsteoretiske arbeider. Utvalget består av to figurasjoner, hvor det blir skilt mellom de etablerte og nykommere. De etablerte var aktører som var aktive på 90-tallet, da det stormet som mest i miljøet. Nykommerne består av nye aktører på svartmetallscenen. Videre blir Elias og Scotson sin feltstudie av et engelsk industrisamfunn som viser hvordan sosial inklusjon og eksklusjon skjer mellom figurasjoner, basert på et statushierarki, brukt for å finne mekanismer for status.
Grunnet fortiden til miljøet, ble en tidsdimensjon inkludert i forhold til hvordan statushierarkiet er bygd opp. I den forbindelse ble Halbwachs teori om kollektivt minne, og generasjonsforskning basert på Mannheims teori og Edmunds og Turners analyser, anvendt.
Problemstillingen er: Vil man i svartmetallmiljøet i Bergen finne en sammenheng mellom hvordan status fordeler seg i miljøet, hvordan det kollektive minnet er med på å avgjøre status, og hvordan den fordeles i forhold til generasjoner?
Gjennom analysen blir det vist ulike dimensjoner som gir status, hvordan status kan legitimeres gjennom et kollektivt minne, og hvilke forskjeller som finnes mellom generasjonene. Man fant i grove trekk at de etablerte besitter en mye høyere status, enn nykommerne. Dette bildet nyanseres litt når man tar høyde for en historisk dimensjon. Gjennom å se på det kollektive minnet og generasjonsanalyser, kan man se at det finnes generasjonsspesifikke forskjeller i hva som gir status.
Sat, 15 Nov 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/91562014-11-15T00:00:00ZWomen's substantive representation in parliament: A comparative analysis of legalising abortion in Argentina and Uruguayhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9154
Women's substantive representation in parliament: A comparative analysis of legalising abortion in Argentina and Uruguay
Einarsen, Benedicte
Master thesis
This thesis is a comparative study of substantive representation of women in parliament, focusing on the process of abortion legislation in Argentina and Uruguay. Women's representation in parliament has increased across Latin America over the last 20 years due to the adoption of gender quotas. The expectation is that more women in parliament will change politics and lead to improvements in women's rights. When women's interests are promoted, substantive representation occurs. Given that Latin America is the region in the world with the most strict abortion policies, it is puzzling that the Uruguayan Congress with only 12 % women has legalized abortion, while the Argentine Congress with 36 % women has failed to do so. I use process-tracing methods and in-depth interviews of central actors in Argentina and Uruguay to analyse the process-oriented and outcome-oriented aspects of substantive representation. I find that although the elements connected to the process-oriented aspect (where does substantive representation occur, why is substantive representation attempted, who acts in substantive representation, and how is substantive representation expressed) increase the chances of outcome (here: abortion legislation), external factors related to the context in which the legislative processes unfold provides a more comprehensive explanation for why abortion has been legalized in Uruguay but not in Argentina
Wed, 19 Nov 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/91542014-11-19T00:00:00ZTrust beyond borders: The Norwegian welfare state, social coordinated security schemes and the free movement of labourhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9152
Trust beyond borders: The Norwegian welfare state, social coordinated security schemes and the free movement of labour
Kalstad, Monika
Master thesis
Will the increase in the number of labour immigrants after the EU enlargements in 2004, 2007 and 2013, in the context of having to comply with the regulation of coordinated social security from EU, harm levels of general trust in Norway? If so can a decline in the levels of general trust come to challenge the legitimacy of the Scandinavian welfare state?
The European community has always emphasized the importance of the four principles of free movement to the success and prosperity of its internal market; one of these four is the free movement of people in order to successfully implement the principle of free movement of people and enhance mobility and flexibility in the internal labour market; the coordinated social security rights were introduced. These ensures that when citizens from the internal market in the European economic area (EEA) takes on employment in another EEA country; they are treated equally along the lines of full citizens under the domestic social security(NOU, 2011 p. 113-115). In 2004, 2007 and 2013 European Union (EU) membership was extended to 11 new countries from Central and Eastern Europe. Their lower levels of economic development compared to most of the current countries in the EEA at that time caused concern in the public and among scholars, regarding how the enlargement would affect the internal market. Due to the gap in wage levels and the welfare program provided by the state in the eastern and the western EEA countries, one of these concerns was that the western countries would be in danger of becoming magnets" to labour immigration from the east(Kvist, 2004). With the coordinated social security rights in the EU, the role of the modern citizenship as guardian of the social citizenship and a tool for solidarity-building is obviously weakened.
In Scandinavia the support of the welfare state has historically been even stronger and remained even more stable than anywhere else in Europe (Esping-Andersen, 1990). Simultaneously Scandinavian states are known for having exceptional high levels of general trust in their society compared to the rest of the world(NOU, 2011 p. 47). After the EU enlargement in 2004 and onwards, Norway experienced a strong increase in the number of labour immigrants from the EU. Currently labour immigrants from Eastern European EU countries have become the largest group of labour immigrants in Norway(Ministry, 2010-2011 p. 19). Speculations on how this would affect the legitimacy of the Norwegian welfare state, and what welfare benefits would be most attractive to these labour immigrants surfaced.
Thu, 20 Nov 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/91522014-11-20T00:00:00ZWhy the saddest tragedy is Greek: A comparative study of the financial crisis and its origins in Greece, Spain and Portugalhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9151
Why the saddest tragedy is Greek: A comparative study of the financial crisis and its origins in Greece, Spain and Portugal
Syverud, Vetle Nordli
Master thesis
This thesis explores the financial crisis in Greece, Spain and Portugal in the period of 2007-2012, with the goal of uncovering which explanatory variables that are crucial for determining the level of severity of crisis in these cases. The purpose is to test the perception of these countries as the most severe cases of the European financial crisis, and provide in-depth within case insights that could help explaining this expected outcome. Furthermore, the case selection is also based on the expectation that Greece has experienced the significantly most severe level of crisis, despite sharing a wide range of similarities with Greece and Portugal. This is mainly based on markedly larger support packages issued to Greece by the euro zone after the occurrence of the crisis. I therefore apply a comparative-historical case study with a most similar systems design (MSSD), to identify the explanatory variable(s) that could explain this expected different outcome. The definition of the dependent variable severity of crisis is based on Reinhart and Rogoff's (2009) classification of four main subtypes of crises, banking, currency, debt, and inflation crises, and the frequency and depth of the occurrences of these. The set of explanatory variables is based on Greece, Spain and Portugal's challenges in the aftermath of the fall of their respective authoritarian regimes around 1975, and the development of their political system and economy up to 2012. The data sources applied are an extensive selection of qualitatively analyzed descriptive statistics, which included the values of the EU average as a reference point, and secondary literature.
The results of the analysis showed that Greece stood out as the most severe case of crisis. Portugal experienced a substantially more severe crisis than the EU average, while Spain experienced a level of severity closer to the EU average but still noticeably more severe. The variable where Greece showed the clearest deviation from Portugal and Spain, was their lower level of central bank independence. The Greek government's actively inflating monetary policies throughout the 1980s had a deteriorating effect on the level of sovereign debt, a trend that was reversed at an earlier stage in Spain and Portugal. The findings of this thesis could contribute to future research, by providing a set of explanatory variables that could be expanded further. Also, my measure of severity of crisis could serve as a useful foundation for developing a measure of this phenomenon suitable for quantitative analysis.
Thu, 20 Nov 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/91512014-11-20T00:00:00ZIrregular and incomplete primary schooling in rural Ghana. A case-study of late enrolment and early drop-out in the eastern regionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9150
Irregular and incomplete primary schooling in rural Ghana. A case-study of late enrolment and early drop-out in the eastern region
Oduro, Beth Cathrine Fagerlid
Master thesis
This study takes a closer look at the issue of late enrolment and early drop out in a rural area
in Eastern Region in Ghana. Children enrolling in school later than the recommended age of
six, is a persistent problem in Ghana in spite of a fee free public school. Using qualitative
methodology through household interviews in two villages, interviews with teachers and staff
at Ghana Educational Service, a registration scheme and diaries the study seeks to unravel
some of the stories behind these delayed enrolments and as drop-outs.
Through the methodology used the topic of irregular schooling gets a new meaning and
becomes a focal point. Empirical findings and discussion is including issues such as late
enrolment, temporarily drop out, regular school absence and repetition of classes. By using
qualitative methodology, parents and school staffs opinions about what causes late enrolment
is being explored, which unveil some surprising and questionable practices in school. One of
these is the sacking" of pupils due to unpaid fees in public fee-free primary schools. Another
is the caning of pupils as a punishment for the same. It is my argument that primary schooling
in Ghana involves direct payment of fees, in spite of the school fees being abolished in 2005.
And that this affects the rural poor in terms of enrolling a child in school and/or keeping the
child in school at a regular basis. The most vulnerable children and families therefore
struggles to engage fully and uninterrupted in primary school. I argue for a stronger
management of rural schools.
Structuration theory is used to look at the interconnectedness of structure and agency,
showing that structures lays the foundation for much of the choices made, but agency is also
visible within the structures, opposing to a structuralist view that agency is prohibited under
constraining structures.
From the schools perspective the main argument is a need for increased funding for the
government schools. The Capitation Grant is often delayed which leaves the school
managements with the difficult task of running a school with an empty budget. There seems
to be lack of communication between the local community and the school and here I argue
that parents needs to be viewed as resources and to have more influence on the schools
activities. This can increase levels of trust in the public school, which is a pending issue.
Mon, 17 Nov 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/91502014-11-17T00:00:00Z"Hvis vi går utover mangfoldet vårt, da dør vi". Om A-pressens oppkjøp av Edda Media, og samanslåinga til Amedia.http://hdl.handle.net/1956/9149
"Hvis vi går utover mangfoldet vårt, da dør vi". Om A-pressens oppkjøp av Edda Media, og samanslåinga til Amedia.
Svarstad, Solveig
Master thesis
Wed, 03 Dec 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/91492014-12-03T00:00:00ZRekonstruksjon av flommer i Glomma gjennom holosen - Effekter av klimaendringer på ulike flomregimerhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9148
Rekonstruksjon av flommer i Glomma gjennom holosen - Effekter av klimaendringer på ulike flomregimer
Follestad, Karoline
Master thesis
When the Glomma river discharge exceeds 1500m3/s a river birfuaction is activated at lake Vingersjøen in Kongsvinger, Norway. The distributary of the Glomma river allows eroded and transported flood sediments from the Glomma catchment to be deposited in lake Vingersjøen.
Studying high-resolution sediment cores from lake Vingersjøen, this study presents an extension of instrumental and historical flood records and produces a continuous record of holosen river-flood activity during the last approximately 7300 years. The sediment cores contain light grey minerogenic layers which are interpreted as flood layers based on statistical analyzes of loss-on ignition (LOI), dry bulk density(DBD), x-ray fluorescence core scanning (XRF) and magnetic susceptibility (MS) measurements. About 200 flood events have been identified and reveal that the frequency of flood has changed significantly during the Holocene, with low activity during the warm periods of the mid-Holocene and the Holocene Thermal Maximum (HTM) (c. 8000-5000 cal. yr BP), and increased activity during the cold periods of the neoglacial (after c.5000 cal. yr BP) and the little ice age (c. 500-100 cal. yr BP). Largest activity occurring from 2500 cal. yr BP until present during cold climate and heavy precipitation. Catchment samples have been collected from lake Vingersjøen´s catchment to separate flood signals from Glomma during colder climate periods and local runoff from rain floods and extreme precipitation events during warmer climate periods. Results suggest snow melting as the dominating flood triggering mechanism, although floods in lake Vingersjøen during the HTM may indicate a shift towards rainstorm-triggered floods in this period.
Mon, 17 Nov 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/91482014-11-17T00:00:00ZRepresentations of madness in the cinema: Three contemporary caseshttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9147
Representations of madness in the cinema: Three contemporary cases
Puisys, Laimonas
Master thesis
The aim of this thesis is to develop a better
understanding of how madness is depicted in
contemporary Hollywood films. Specifically, it
discusses what shapes the depiction of madness,
how and why it differs from reality, how then it
is communicated to the audience and to what
purpose it serves as a plot element.
In the first part is dedicated to outline the
theoretical background, method and goals of this
thesis. Next three chapters each are dedicated to
in depth discussion of the three movies that were
chosen for this paper: Me, Myself and Irene
(2000), Bug (2006) and Shutter Island (2010).
Finally in Findings chapter common traits of
depiction that are found in all three movies are
compared and examined.
In conclusion, the thesis demonstrates that there
exist a lot of culturally and historically defined
expectations and influences that shape a depiction
of madness, for which a modern medical knowledge
plays just a small and superficial role. Those
influences differ from film to film but common
mechanisms that transcend a specific film and even
genre exist to communicate madness as a form of
Otherness. Finally the study argues that the
element of madness in movies is often used not to
communicate a deeper understanding of a real life
mental illness but to communicate ideas about
social order, right and wrong and to make a point
about what is not madness.
Although this paper examines only three particular
cases, nonetheless those findings can be used as a
stepping stone for a further research and for
facilitating a fruitful discussion between cinema
professionals, people connected to the mental
health issues and the film audience.
Mon, 01 Dec 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/91472014-12-01T00:00:00ZFødeseksjonen i hardt vær. En retorisk analyse av hvordan en organisasjon kan etablere sin troverdighet på sine nettsider.http://hdl.handle.net/1956/9128
Fødeseksjonen i hardt vær. En retorisk analyse av hvordan en organisasjon kan etablere sin troverdighet på sine nettsider.
Fivelstad, Magnhild Rommetveit
Master thesis
En analyse av hvordan en organisasjon kan
presentere seg gjennom Internettets mange ulike
kommunikasjonsformer. Fødeseksjonen har fått
omfattende kritikk i media og fra Fylkeslegen.
På bakgrunn av den spesielle retoriske
situasjonen er det interessant å undersøke
hvilken type troverdighet som etableres på
Fødeseksjonens nettsider.Disse er datert
02.03.14. Jeg vektlegger også å vurdere hvilke
retoriske virkemidler og kommunikasjonsformer,
som tas i bruk, for å imøtegå den spesielle
retoriske situasjonen. På denne måten kan jeg
vise hvordan Fødeseksjonen etablerer sin
troverdighet gjennom sine nettsider. Jeg vil se
om nettsidene kan være med på å gjenopprette
deres omdømme. Jeg tar i bruk nyere og eldre
ethos-teori, for å undersøke dette.Spesielt
Hoff-Clausens(2010) moderne ethos-begreper er
nyttige i denne sammenheng. Bitzer(1968) sin
teori om den retoriske situasjon, gir meg en
nyttig innfallsvinkel for å vurdere nettsidene.
Mon, 01 Dec 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/91282014-12-01T00:00:00ZState Capacity, Internal Conflict and Democratic Breakdown - A Comparative Study of Mali and Ghana.http://hdl.handle.net/1956/9127
State Capacity, Internal Conflict and Democratic Breakdown - A Comparative Study of Mali and Ghana.
Hvattum, Ingvild Thue
Master thesis
The two underdeveloped, West-African states, Mali and Ghana, have been praised for their well-established democratic institutions, and have been said to be good role models when it comes to democracy in an African context. However, Mail experienced a sudden democratic breakdown in 2012, after violent rebellion and a military coup. This puzzle" is what this thesis is about, and to unravel the underlying structures and causes, a qualitative case study is conducted to investigate how variations in state capacity and internal conflict can help explain the difference in outcome in Mali and Ghana. There is a clear pattern showing in Mali, where incapacity on a range of indicators of state capacity, and an unresolved conflict in the northern region can be said to have caused the democratic breakdown. A more muted conflict level and a higher degree of state capacity is the trend in Ghana, and stands as the reason for why the breakdown happened in Mali, and not in Ghana.
Thu, 20 Nov 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/91272014-11-20T00:00:00ZDynamics and cost of insurgency: the Maoist insurgency in Nepalhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9125
Dynamics and cost of insurgency: the Maoist insurgency in Nepal
Joshi, Baldeb Prasad
Master thesis
Nepal faced a ten year long Maoist insurgency problem when the Communist Party of Nepal, CPN (Maoist) declared war in 1996 by rejecting the fundamental premises of Nepal's constitutional monarchy and parliamentary system established in 1990 and ended with a comprehensive peace agreement in 2006. A decade-long insurgency and counterinsurgency claimed many lives, destruction of infrastructure, internally displacement of people, and crossing over to India. Insurgency compelled to bear direct, indirect and hidden cost to the nation.
The purpose of this study is to develop a computer simulation model to yield valuable insights into dynamics of insurgency evolution, determine insurgency mitigating conditions and estimate cost of the insurgency. The main hypothesis of this research is that the lack of understanding of the dynamics of insurgency development and mitigation has contributed to the cost of the conflict. The study aims to apply system Dynamics (SD) methodology with conflict transformation theory to examine the development, management and cost of conflict.
The fundamental proposition of this study is that an insurgency must be analyzed within a system in which all behavior is produced related to the insurgency. The utility of the model designed in this study is not limited to insurgency in Nepal, rather the implication of understanding and analyzing the war on terrorism as a global insurgency. It indicates a shift in the main emphasis for the conduct of the insurgency or counterinsurgency activities. The primary emphasis must shift to, and remain on the population. Instead of applying the majority of the resources to answering the insurgency with the military response, the insurgency analysis suggests that focusing on the insurgent's support base and resources is a more effective method of defeating them. Achieving popular support strengthens the security force ability to combat the insurgent while at the same time drain the insurgent's ability to commit violent incident.
The study finds that fully reliance on armed solution might not be a good answer for any conflict. The cost of armed conflict might always be greater than its benefit. The core insight gained from this study, the most powerful instrument that shapes the future of peace and security, is the self-examination of costs and dynamics of the insurgency. The major recommendations of this study on the basis of findings are:
First, the insurgency should not be thought of in military terms only, but it should be scrutinized in light of the national strategy and the implementation of state capacity elements. Military, diplomatic, socio-economic, governance and legislative efforts all must be synchronized and united toward achieving the common principal objective, the defeat of the insurgent and its underlying causes. Addressing transitional security requires improving the elements of national power including democracy and governance.
Second, the effort for the state must be to gain popular support, which gives legitimacy to the security force operation. It provides the necessary intelligence to locate the insurgent members and removes the recruitment base from the potential insurgent. Insurgents do also rely on public support, without public support to them; the resources needed for their survival and actions are no longer available.
Third, the security force must limit the use of direct action against the insurgent without...
Wed, 01 Oct 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/91252014-10-01T00:00:00Z"Vi er et lite land, men vi er et stolt folk". En analyse av talen som retorisk kommunikasjon etter 22.juli,og en undersøkelse av dens retoriske resepsjon og reisehttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9124
"Vi er et lite land, men vi er et stolt folk". En analyse av talen som retorisk kommunikasjon etter 22.juli,og en undersøkelse av dens retoriske resepsjon og reise
Bernes, Åse Marie
Master thesis
Denne masteroppgaven undersøker hvordan talen ble brukt som
retorisk kommunikasjon etter 22.juli, med utgangspunkt i de første
tre talene som Stoltenberg holdt etter terrorangrepet. Oppgaven
undersøker også hvordan disse talene ble behandlet og
videreformidlet i landets papiraviser, altså fragmenteringen av
talene.
Mon, 01 Dec 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/91242014-12-01T00:00:00ZHva skyldes forskjellene? En vekstkurveanalyse av politisk representasjon av kvinner i 20 demokratier over tidsperioden 1970-2013.http://hdl.handle.net/1956/9123
Hva skyldes forskjellene? En vekstkurveanalyse av politisk representasjon av kvinner i 20 demokratier over tidsperioden 1970-2013.
Roaldset, John Martin
Master thesis
The percentage of women in national parliaments varies substantially between countries and over time. This study examines formal political representation of women in 20 western democracies from 1970 to 2013. The explanatory value of institutional, sosioeconomical and cultural factors on the percentage of women in national parliaments are examined by quantitative analysis of country-level data. A battery of growth-curve models are utilized to account for intra-country change over time as well as differences between countries. Consistent with previous studies, the growth-curve analysis finds a negative effect of majoritarian electoral systems. Gender quotas, introduced by law or voluntarily by political parties, are found to have a positive effect. This finding contradicts some previous studies, and underlines the importance of a longitudinal approach when examining the percentage of women in national parliaments. Sosioeconomic factors are found to have conditional effects on the percentage of women in parliments. The percentage of women in paid labor is found to have a positive effect only in the Nordic region, while the percentage of women who enroll to higher education only have a positive effect in countries with proportional electoral systems. Findings of conditional effect of female labor force participation warrents further study. The problem of quantifying cultural factors in a satisfying manner persists for this longitudinal study. Catholic religious dominance is found not to have explanatory value once regional differences are controlled for. Previous studies have consistently found positive effects of Nordic countries when controlling for regions. In this study however, no statistically significant effect of Nordic countries compared to English-speaking countries is found once institutional and sosioeconomic factors are controlled for. Instead, the Continental European region is distinguished by a negative effect on the pecentage of women in national parliaments. These findings contributes to understanding the dynamics of political representation of women both by reinforcing and challenging previous findings.
Wed, 19 Nov 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/91232014-11-19T00:00:00ZEn kulturhistorisk landskapsanalyse fra Horgheim, Romsdalenhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9121
En kulturhistorisk landskapsanalyse fra Horgheim, Romsdalen
Lysgård, Tone Betten
Master thesis
.
Mon, 17 Nov 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/91212014-11-17T00:00:00ZDavid Beckham: En analyse av merkevaren, celebriteten og personen - basert på portrettintervju i ni ulike magasinerhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9120
David Beckham: En analyse av merkevaren, celebriteten og personen - basert på portrettintervju i ni ulike magasiner
Knoph-Solholm, Ida
Master thesis
Dette er en kvalitativ innholdsanalyse av hvordan
David Beckham blir framstilt i ni ulike magasiner,
med fokus på celebritetsanalyse og oppbygging av
merkevaren David Beckham.
Sun, 30 Nov 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/91202014-11-30T00:00:00ZJakta på den norske filmkomedienhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9104
Jakta på den norske filmkomedien
Hekkelstrand, Hanna Kvalheim
Master thesis
Kva kjenneteiknar den norske komedien, og korleis hev sjangeren
utvikla seg gjennom historia? Oppgåva undersøkjer kva
undersjangrar som hev vore sentrale innan den norske komedien,
og korleis desse hev endra seg meg tida. Basert på sjangerteori hev
oppgåva som mål å analysera og kategorisera norske komediar for å
sjå kva som kjennetegner dei. Den er basert på gjennomsyn og
analyse av ca 140 norske komediar. Analysen syner at den norske
komedien hev endra seg i dei seinare åra, mellom anna hev nokre
undersjangrar trekt seg tilbake medan andre hev kome til.
Mon, 01 Dec 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/91042014-12-01T00:00:00ZForskningsjournalistikk eller forskningsformidling?Om pressens selvbedrag og forskernes forvirringhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9103
Forskningsjournalistikk eller forskningsformidling?Om pressens selvbedrag og forskernes forvirring
Skrede, Sindre
Master thesis
Denne oppgaven ser nærmere på forholdet mellom
forskere og journalister hvordan
forskningsjournalistikken i Norge i dag (2014)
fungerer, og hvordan den ikke fungerer.
Oppgaven undersøker først eksisterende
oppfatninger av forskningsjournalistikken gjennom et
litteraturstudie. Oppgaven går deretter videre i å
presentere resultatene fra seks dybdeintervjuer med
tre forskere og tre journalister.
Oppgavens undersøkelser finner at
forskningsjournalistikken i Norge i dag i stor grad er
en form for medievelsignet forskningsformidling, med
få innslag av det som ellers vil defineres som
journalistikk både av litteraturen og journalistene
selv.; This master's thesis explores the relationship
between scientist and journalists in Norway, and in
what sense science journalism works.
The thesis incorporates both a study of relevant
litterature, to form a baseline from which findings in
six in-depth interviews with tree journalists and three
scientists are discussed.
From these interviews we can distill that the science
journalism in Norway is not as much journalism as it
is more of a media-blessed science communication,
normally found in popular science magazines.
This is contrary to both the description of good
science journalism found in the litterature discussed
in the thesis, and to the definitions and descriptions
given by the journalists themselves.
Mon, 01 Dec 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/91032014-12-01T00:00:00ZReaching sustainability: Combining sustainable development with emission reductions in the Clean Development Mechanism. A study of the sustainability contributions in the CDM projects with Norwegian investmenthttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9060
Reaching sustainability: Combining sustainable development with emission reductions in the Clean Development Mechanism. A study of the sustainability contributions in the CDM projects with Norwegian investment
Thorsen, Marie Koksvik
Master thesis
This thesis investigates how projects of The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) contribute to sustainable development. These are projects with the dual objective of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to sustainable development. As these projects' contributions to sustainable development vary considerably, this thesis investigates combinations of factors in order to explain these variations. Which factors are decisive for obtaining substantial or unsubstantial contributions to sustainable development are assessed by using Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) as a research method. QCA is a combinatorial method and was used in order to find combinations of factors that affected the projects contributions to sustainable development.
The 85 CDM projects with Norwegian investment were used as a sample, and five explanatory variables, the conditions, were used for investigating how the outcome for the projects contributions varied. Three of the conditions were related to the project design while two conditions were related to the project participants. It was a purpose of the thesis to compare the relevance of these two types of conditions for explaining the projects' outcomes. The project design variables were Project Category, Project Scale and the Emission reductions generated from a project while the project participant conditions were Ownership type and Economic performance of the host country of a project.
The project design conditions appeared to be less relevant for explaining the outcome than the conditions of the project participants. The Project category and the Emission reductions generated from a project both appeared relevant for explaining the outcome, while the Project Scale appeared to be irrelevant. The findings suggested that the Ownership type of the projects was the most decisive factor for explaining the project's contributions to sustainable development, although the Economic performance of the host country of a project seemed decisive for which ownership type the projects would have. However, also country specific contexts seem to explain some of the variations in the outcomes among the projects.
Revised version: Acknowledgements added
Thu, 20 Nov 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/90602014-11-20T00:00:00ZMiku's Mask: Fictional Encounters in Children's Costume Playhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9049
Miku's Mask: Fictional Encounters in Children's Costume Play
Helgesen, Espen
Journal article
Children’s engagement with Japanese toys and fictional characters has taken on new significance in the age of YouTube. Drawing on ethnographic research on technology-mediated play among 8- and 9-year-olds in Norway, this article shows how boundaries between “real” humans and “fake” non-humans are blurred and undermined when children take on the perspective of a fictional pop star known as Miku. I argue that YouTube provides a platform for children’s playful experimentation with posthuman subjectivities, where they orient themselves toward the future not in terms of becoming adult but in terms of multiple becomings.
Mon, 03 Nov 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/90492014-11-03T00:00:00Z‘Like Playing a Game Where You Don't Know the Rules’: Investing Meaning in Intercultural Cash Transactions Between Tourists and Trobriand Islandershttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/9044
‘Like Playing a Game Where You Don't Know the Rules’: Investing Meaning in Intercultural Cash Transactions Between Tourists and Trobriand Islanders
MacCarthy, Michelle
Journal article
When tourists visit cultural tourism destinations, the primary form of interaction between visitors and local residents is in the exchange of money for material objects and performances. While purchase of cultural commodities in tourism contexts may appear to be simple market transactions, they are often in fact morally fraught sites of ambiguous interaction, invested with disparate meanings by different participants. Drawing on Bloch and Parry's (1989) analysis of the symbolism of money and its relationship to culturally constructed ideas about production, consumption, circulation, and exchange, this article examines the conflicting and contested views of cash transactions and other types of exchange in meetings between tourists and Trobriand Islanders in Papua New Guinea. I argue that intercultural exchange in tourism is not necessarily a straightforward commodity exchange, but evokes social relations that are often quite differently conceptualized by the producers and consumers of touristic products.
Wed, 20 Aug 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/90442014-08-20T00:00:00ZStreet-level policy aims of child welfare workers in England, Norway and the United States: An exploratory studyhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8979
Street-level policy aims of child welfare workers in England, Norway and the United States: An exploratory study
Križ, Katrin; Skivenes, Marit
Journal article
This study, which is based on in-depth, semi-structured interviews with a total of 92 child welfare workers in California, England and Norway conducted between January 2008 and June 2010, analyzes how child welfare workers view the principles underlying their respective child welfare system. We address this question using Lipsky's (1980) understanding of street-level bureaucracy. While we know about the policy principles of governments, we know little about how street-level bureaucrats view these principles. We call workers' perceptions of policy principles ‘street-level policy aims.’ We found that Norwegian street-level policy aims are child-centered and child welfare-oriented. English street-level policy aims are safety-oriented and child-centered; and U.S.-American street-level policy aims are safety-oriented and family-centered, and that in the U.S., ‘permanency’ was understood as family preservation. We also found that workers in Norway perceived fewer organizational barriers in implementing policy aims. We discuss the implications of these findings on future research.
Wed, 05 Mar 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/89792014-03-05T00:00:00Z"Du tenker ikke tilbake på alle de gangene du har vært på jobb, du tenker heller tilbake på de fine tingene som man har gjort sammen". En kvalitativ studie av menn med høy utdanning sine holdninger og erfaringer med å være fedre.http://hdl.handle.net/1956/8972
"Du tenker ikke tilbake på alle de gangene du har vært på jobb, du tenker heller tilbake på de fine tingene som man har gjort sammen". En kvalitativ studie av menn med høy utdanning sine holdninger og erfaringer med å være fedre.
Johannessen, Renate Aarseth
Master thesis
Tue, 01 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/89722013-01-01T00:00:00Z"Keepin' it real". Om autentisitetsbegrepets betydning i kanonisering av populærmusikkhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8967
"Keepin' it real". Om autentisitetsbegrepets betydning i kanonisering av populærmusikk
Eikill, Sverre Øygarden
Master thesis
En studie av autentisitetsbegrepets viktighet i resepsjon og kanonisering av populærmusikk. Vi ser at det finnes rom for å si at det finnes en populærmusikalsk kanon, og denne teksten tar for seg kriteriene og forutsetningene for denne i form av å fokusere på autentisitetsbegrepet - et elastisk begrep i stadig endring, som også gjør at kanonen endrer seg. Eksemplifisert ved tre utvalgte populærmusikalske artister og en håndfull lister fra NMEs og Rolling Stones egne kanoniseringspraksiser.
Sun, 03 Jun 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/89672012-06-03T00:00:00ZEffervescence and Ephemerality: Popular Urban Uprisings in Mozambiquehttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8933
Effervescence and Ephemerality: Popular Urban Uprisings in Mozambique
Bertelsen, Bjørn Enge
Journal article
This article analyses the large-scale popular urban uprisings that shook Mozambican cities on 1 and 2 September 2010, following the government’s announcement of successive rises in the price of public transport fares and basic commodities. Using ethnographic material from the city of Chimoio and the capital Maputo, the following work highlights the organisational character of the ‘strikes’ (greves), as the popular uprisings were called, and explores them as a new form of organising political discontent. Comparing them to other historical and contemporary popular uprisings, this article argues that the strikes violently and rhizomically generated ephemeral and egalitarian forms of political authority and order that simultaneously confronted, replicated and undercut the aspects of Mozambican statehood. Deploying Durkheim’s notion of effervescence, the work further argues that the creative fervour, multisemic aspects and festive character of the popular uprisings need to be recognised; thus, this analysis challenges the reductive labelling of these events as ‘riots’ or ‘food riots’.
Wed, 25 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/89332014-06-25T00:00:00ZAssociations online: Barriers for Using Web-based Communication in Voluntary Organizationshttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8907
Associations online: Barriers for Using Web-based Communication in Voluntary Organizations
Eimhjellen, Ivar Sognnæs; Wollebæk, Dag; Strømsnes, Kristin
Journal article
Despite the high adoption level of Facebook and other social network sites (SNSs) in Norway, local level voluntary associations have not embraced SNSs to the same degree. Regular websites are the main web representation, and information provision is the main function of the associations’ web representations. Using quantitative data on website content and organizational characteristics we have analyzed which factors hinder SNS adoption. The results point to size and complexity of associations and to age-based digital divides among members as important factors for having a profile on a SNS. It seems that a certain numerical point must be reached in terms of organizational and community size, for SNSs to be useful. Also, older members, smaller economy and a low degree of formalization in associations might hamper the implementation of SNSs in associations. Using Norway as a critical case, this article contributes new knowledge about web communication in voluntary organizations, an increasingly important field of research internationally.
Tue, 01 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/89072013-01-01T00:00:00ZWeb Technologies in Practice. The Integration of Web Technologies by Environmental Organizationshttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8906
Web Technologies in Practice. The Integration of Web Technologies by Environmental Organizations
Eimhjellen, Ivar Sognnæs
Journal article
This article uses a structuration model to explore the interaction between technology
and organizations. Based on a case study of three environmental organizations in
Norway and opposing visions of a single predetermined effect of web technology, it
argues that the implications of web technologies within organizations are diverse and
can strengthen existing organizational characteristics. With diverging organizational
structures, norms, and culture, different interpretations, meanings, and practices tied
to the same technologies develop. Technology is situated and used in concrete social
contexts, being shaped by and in turn shaping social and organizational structures. In
established and institutionalized organizations new communication technology can
reinforce existing ways of conduct, while in less institutionalized groups, features of
new web technology may have greater implications for the further development and
shaping of these groups. Although this study is context and time specific, the
observed patterns of web technology usage, their meanings and implications might
also point to functions of web technologies in other comparable contexts.
Wed, 01 Jan 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/89062014-01-01T00:00:00ZInternet Communication: Does It Strengthen Local Voluntary Organizations?http://hdl.handle.net/1956/8905
Internet Communication: Does It Strengthen Local Voluntary Organizations?
Eimhjellen, Ivar Sognnæs
Journal article
Does communication through the Internet strengthen local voluntary organizations?
This question is investigated by analyzing sustainability, vitality, and the use of the
Internet by Norwegian local voluntary organizations. Using quantitative data, analyses
show that the use of the Internet by Norwegian voluntary organizations is widespread.
Primarily, organizations appreciate the technology for its one-way aspect of
communication and information distribution, rather than for aspects of many-to-many
communication between organizations, members, and volunteers. Using data from
two points in time, analyses show that organizations using the Internet have had a
higher probability of achieving organizational growth than those who do not.
Furthermore, these organizations are also more likely to hold internal meetings and to
arrange other face-to-face activities. This article therefore concludes that rather than
replacing traditional organizations and face-to-face activities, the Internet may
strengthen their sustainability and vitality.
Tue, 01 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/89052013-01-01T00:00:00ZFrom face-to-face to Facebook? Web technologies in Norwegian civil societyhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8903
From face-to-face to Facebook? Web technologies in Norwegian civil society
Eimhjellen, Ivar Sognnæs
Doctoral thesis
<p>Using a mixed methods approach, this article-based thesis investigates some of the implications of web technologies for political participation and for voluntary organizations in Norway. First, in a general theoretical and methodological introduction to the articles, concepts, theories and existing research concerning civil society, network society, political participation, social construction of technology and mixed methods research are discussed. Second, in four individual journal articles, four specific research questions are addressed: </p><p><i>Article 1: Diffusion of online political participation. Urban context and social network.</i> This article is based on analyses of survey data from active social network site users in Norway. It is concerned with how our social context, in terms of urbanity and social networks, is related to political participation on the social network site Facebook. It indicates that rather than an urban-rural divide in the diffusion of new political forms on Facebook, other factors – most significantly traits of social networks – seem to be related to political participation on Facebook. Diversity in types of Facebook contacts and in offline discussion partners is positively associated with political activities on Facebook. </p><p><i>Article 2: Web Technologies in Practice. The Integration of Web Technologies by Environmental Organizations.</i> In the second article, using a case study approach, I investigate three Norwegian climate and environment protection groups to explore the meanings and implications surrounding web communication. Here, I am investigating the social construction of the web as a medium: how web technologies can shape and be shaped by organizational norms and culture. The article discovers different enactments of practices surrounding web technologies, representing a variation between centralized one-to-many communication and a more decentralized many-to-many communication. Different structures, norms and cultures in organizations shape the implementation of and practices surrounding web technology, and the technology may further reinforce these structures, norms and cultures in organizations.</p><p><i>Article 3: Internet communication: Does it strengthen local voluntary organizations?</i> Analyzing survey data from voluntary organizations, article three is concerned with how the structure of communication through the internet is related to organizational change, face-to-face activities and the sustainability and vitality of voluntary organizations. The analyses indicate that the use of e-mail and the web, but not social network sites, is extensive in local voluntary organizations, particularly in larger and younger organizations, in urban organizations, and in organizations with a higher proportion of younger members. The internet is used mostly as an administrative tool and as a one-way channel of information. The use of the internet is positively associated with increased activities and membership in the organizations but is also related to a centralization of organizations.</p><p><i>Article 4: Associations online: Barriers for Using Web-based Communication in Voluntary Organizations.</i> Article four asks what barriers might exist for implementing new communication technologies in local voluntary organizations. Analyses of survey data from organizations and data on their web representations indicate that a certain numerical point must be reached in terms of organizational and community size for social network sites to be useful in voluntary organizations. Small organizations in small communities with few active volunteers do not adopt social network sites as much as larger and more complex organizations. Also, if the member base of an organization mostly consists of older members, the financial economy is small, and the organization has a low degree of formalization, it reduces the likelihood of having a social network site profile.</p><p>With regard to the question in the title of this dissertation “From face-to-face to Facebook?” the four articles point to different implications of web technologies on face-to-face communication in the Norwegian civil society. They show that political participation can take place on Facebook as well as through face-to-face encounters and that although communication through Facebook is not widespread among local voluntary organizations it can supplement face-to-face communication in the running of some organizations. The articles show that general internet use in organizations is positively associated with face-to-face activities in organizations and that face-to-face communication and other traditional forms of communication might be sufficient in the running of some organizations, limiting their use of new communication channels such as Facebook.</p><p>Summarizing the empirical findings, and in relation to the theoretical discussions in this thesis, I argue that this thesis points to a two-sided story of the implications of web technologies in the Norwegian civil society. On one side, web technologies in the form of web 1.0 with traditional web sites and one-way communication are widespread among local voluntary organizations. A traditional logic of organizing and centralizing information, knowledge, interests and decisive power in a formal organization with defined boundaries seems to be in agreement with the logic of web 1.0. The use of web 1.0 technologies is positively related to signs of organizational growth and vitality as well as to a centralization of organizations. Established voluntary organizations can implement social network sites in their organizational communication, but it seems to be driven by the traditional organizational logic of centralized one-way information dissemination to a defined audience.</p><p>The other side of the story is the increasingly decentralized many to-many-communication of web 2.0, which favors less constrained individuals connected through social networks mediated by web technology. Accordingly, web 2.0 seems to clash with the logic behind established formal and centrally controlled organizations. This thesis finds traces of a network individualization process in regard to the diffusion of new forms of political participation on Facebook, which seems to be more related to the traits of our social networks both on- and offline than the traits of our place of residence. Also, in newly initiated groups and networks less constrained by institutionalization and structural inertia, the web 2.0 features will more easily be implemented and used for multi-way communication, mobilization and participation in less centralized networks.</p>
Fri, 21 Nov 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/89032014-11-21T00:00:00ZTextual poaching, gamekeeping and the counter-stereotype: US and Norwegian online fans’ perceptions of positive portrayals of Muslims in 24http://hdl.handle.net/1956/8850
Textual poaching, gamekeeping and the counter-stereotype: US and Norwegian online fans’ perceptions of positive portrayals of Muslims in 24
Halse, Rolf E. S.
Journal article
In the analogue era, fan studies explored localized resistance within fan communities’ cultural
practices, examining how this might lead to new understandings of gender, sexuality,
and race. However, there has been less work that examines the consequences fans’ cultural
practices using digital media have for the cultural politics of ‘poaching’. The current article
presents a study of online fans’ perceptions of positively depicted Muslim characters from
the Middle East in the television serial, 24. Like the rest of the show’s regular cast, these
characters should be in focus for fans in their competing interpretations and evaluations of
each episode in online discussion forums. The study comprises a comparison of how two
online fan communities, one in the US and one in Norway, perceive counter-stereotypical
Muslim characters. An analysis of fans’ readings is carried out, and one central finding is
that fans appropriated 24’s counter-stereotype in ways that can be described as reactionary.
Sun, 01 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/88502014-06-01T00:00:00ZAge, occupational class and sickness absence during pregnancy: a retrospective analysis study of the Norwegian population registryhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8887
Age, occupational class and sickness absence during pregnancy: a retrospective analysis study of the Norwegian population registry
Ariansen, Anja Maria Steinsland
Journal article
<p>Objective Western women increasingly delay having children to advance their career, and pregnancy is considered to be riskier among older women. In Norway, this development surprisingly coincides with increased sickness absence among young pregnant women, rather than their older counterparts. This paper tests the hypothesis that young pregnant women have a higher number of sick days because this age group includes a higher proportion of working class women, who are more prone to sickness absence.</p>
<p>Design A zero-inflated Poisson regression was conducted on the Norwegian population registry.</p>
<p>Participants All pregnant employees giving birth in 2004&ndash;2008 were included in the study. A total number of 216 541 pregnancies were observed among 180 483 women.</p>
<p>Outcome measure Number of sick days.</p>
<p>Results Although the association between age and number of sick days was U-shaped, pregnant women in their early 20s had a higher number of sick days than those in their mid-40s. This was particularly the case for pregnant women with previous births. In this group, 20-year-olds had 12.6 more sick days than 45-year-olds; this age difference was reduced to 6.3 after control for class. Among women undergoing their first pregnancy, 20-year-olds initially had 1.2 more sick days than 45-year-olds, but control for class altered this age difference. After control for class, 45-year-old first-time pregnant women had 2.9 more sick days than 20-year-olds with corresponding characteristics.</p>
<p>Conclusions The negative association between age and sickness absence was partly due to younger age groups including more working class women, who were more prone to sickness absence. Young pregnant women&#39;s needs for job adjustments should not be underestimated.</p>
Fri, 02 May 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/88872014-05-02T00:00:00ZNegotiating Boundaries between Us and Them: Ethnic Norwegians and Norwegian Muslims Speak out about the ‘Next Door Neighbour Terrorist’ in 24http://hdl.handle.net/1956/8848
Negotiating Boundaries between Us and Them: Ethnic Norwegians and Norwegian Muslims Speak out about the ‘Next Door Neighbour Terrorist’ in 24
Halse, Rolf E. S.
Journal article
Interpretive communities can read a media text in different ways. The present article
examines how various interpretive communities of young adults in Norway perceive the
action serial 24’s portrayal of a Muslim family. It investigates the understandings and attitudes informants express in their conversations about the Muslim ‘next door neighbour
terrorist’ stereotype, and sheds light on how 24’s text can mobilize stereotypes and facilitate stereotyping among viewers. The findings reveal different patterns of reception. The ethnic Norwegian participants found gratifications in 24’s storyline, while a majority of the Norwegian Muslims found it unpleasant and offensive. An important contribution to the fear that the stereotype evoked in the ethnic Norwegians was related to the challenge and tension it created in the negotiation process of categorization. The category ‘Muslim’ triggered a powerful response, and the conversation veered off in a xenophobic direction. This is an example of how an interpretive community modified its perception of the stereotype through socially patterned readings.
Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/88482012-01-01T00:00:00ZThe Muslim-American Neighbour as Terrorist: The Representation of a Muslim Family in 24http://hdl.handle.net/1956/8847
The Muslim-American Neighbour as Terrorist: The Representation of a Muslim Family in 24
Halse, Rolf E. S.
Journal article
Academic literature on movies and TV serials produced in Hollywood documents that Muslim and Arab characters are often represented in a stereotypical and negative manner. The TV serial 24 doesn't seem to be an exception. 24 has been accused by Muslim interest groups in the United States and by prominent people with Muslim background for stereotyping Muslims. This article sets out to investigate whether this accusation is well founded by analysing how a Muslim family, living in Los Angeles as a sleeping terror cell, is represented in the serial. A textual analysis uncovers a change in the Muslim stereotype in US TV entertainment post-9/11 having to do with the stereotype's relocalization. The new Muslim stereotype seems to resemble the average American's appearance, which, in effect, redefines 'the Muslim other'; on the outside it differs from the traditional Muslim stereotype, but within, in its character it is true to type.
Tue, 01 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/88472013-01-01T00:00:00ZDelineating boundariesbetween 'us' and 'them': A reception study of the representation of Muslim characters in the television serial 24http://hdl.handle.net/1956/8846
Delineating boundariesbetween 'us' and 'them': A reception study of the representation of Muslim characters in the television serial 24
Halse, Rolf E. S.
Doctoral thesis
This thesis presents an examination of the US television serial 24’s representation of Muslim characters, and it explores to what extent the perception of these characters can be determined by the cultural and ethnic belonging of the audience. The present thesis shows how 24 participated in forming an arena in which representations, mental images, social relations, and boundaries between ingroup members and outgroup members are constructed and negotiated. The main reason for choosing to study 24 exclusively is that after 9/11 the serial played a central role in the public debate about whether Muslims are being stereotyped in US television entertainment. Hence, the thesis examines whether the critics of 24 have a valid point with regards to the show’s portrayal of negative stereotypes. It also assesses to what extent the serial’s effort to introduce Muslim counter-stereotypes proved to be an adequate response to the criticism. A qualitative research approach is used for examining 24 by combining textual and audience reception analysis. Close readings of selected episodes of the TV serial is carried out, and the crux of the analysis centres on whether, and if so in what respects the representation of the characters are stereotypical/counter-stereotypical. Moreover, it is examined how different interpretive communities of young adults, mainly from Norway, but also from the United States, read and perceive the portrayal of Muslim characters in the same television texts. In the thesis, the analysis of 24 is presented in the form of four scholarly articles. Each article emphasizes different dimensions of the stereotype or counter-stereotype, each draws on different theoretical perspectives, and each can be related to different debates in media studies. The use of the stereotype and the counter-stereotype as analytical tools is pivotal for shedding light on the struggle over meanings of specific representational modes. The thesis aims to contribute to making research on these concepts more relevant for media studies by offering demonstrations of how they can be applied in the investigation of media texts.; Denne avhandlingen presenterer en studie av den amerikanske TV serien 24’s representasjon av muslimske karakterer, og den undersøker i hvilken grad oppfatningen av disse karakterene kan bli bestemt av et publikums kulturelle og etniske bakgrunn. Avhandlingen viser hvordan 24 deltok i å skape en arena hvor representasjoner, mentale bilder, sosiale relasjoner og grenser mellom inngrupper og utgrupper blir konstruert og forhandlet om. Etter 11. september 2001 spilte 24 en sentral rolle i debatten om hvorvidt muslimer blir negativt og stereotypisk fremstilt i amerikansk TV underholdning. Dette er hovedgrunnen for å velge denne TV-serien som case. I studiet blir det undersøkt om kritikken rettet mot serien i forhold til dens mediering av muslimske stereotypier har substans. I tillegg vurderes det i hvilken grad seriens introduksjon av kontra-stereotypiske muslimske karakterer imøtekommer kritikken på en god måte. TV-serien blir undersøkt ved bruk av en kvalitativ tilnærming der tekstanalyse og resepsjonsanalyse er kombinert. Først blir det utført analyser av utvalgte episoder av TV-serien, og et sentralt spørsmål er her om fremstillingen av karakterene kan sies å være stereotyp/kontra-stereotyp. Det blir så studert hvordan ulike fortolkningsfelleskap av unge voksne, hovedsakelig fra Norge, men også USA, leser, oppfatter og fortolker fremstillingen av muslimske karakterer i de samme medietekstene. Analysen av serien er utformet som fire vitenskapelige artikler. I hver artikkel vektlegges ulike dimensjoner ved begrepet stereotypi eller kontra-stereotypi. Artiklene trekker veksler på forskjellige teoretiske perspektiver og kan kobles til forskjellige diskusjoner innenfor medievitenskapen. Bruken av stereotypi- og kontra-stereotypi som analytiske verktøy er av avgjørende betydning for å kunne belyse hvordan kampen over meningsinnholdet til spesifikke representasjoner foregikk. Denne avhandlingen ønsker å bidra til å gjøre forskning på stereotypier og kontra-stereotypier mer relevant for medievitenskap ved gi demonstrasjoner på hvordan begrepene kan anvendes i studiet av medietekster.
Fri, 07 Nov 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/88462014-11-07T00:00:00ZEmpowerment of School Committees and Parents in Tanzania: Delineating Existence of Opportunity, Its Use and Impact on School Decisionshttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8831
Empowerment of School Committees and Parents in Tanzania: Delineating Existence of Opportunity, Its Use and Impact on School Decisions
Masue, Orest Sebastian
Doctoral thesis
Since the end of the twentieth century, public administration systems in developing countries
have undergone significant transformation. This comes as a result of the global shift from
centralized to decentralized political, fiscal and administrative systems. Through such
transformation, governments seek to empower people at the grassroots level and to improve
service delivery in all sectors.
This dissertation examines the empowerment of school committees and parents in school
governance, focusing on the sub-sector of primary education in Tanzania. In particular, it
accomplishes three key goals: First, it delineates the empowerment of school committees and
parents using Alsop and Heinsohn’s (2005) and Alsop et al.s’ (2006) three-level framework for
measuring empowerment. The three levels are the Degree of Existence of Opportunity (DEO)
for people at the grassroots level to participate in decision making, the Degree of Use of the
Opportunity (DUO) and the Degree Of Impact (DOI) that the use of opportunity has on the
decisions made by a school. Second, the dissertation determines factors affecting the
empowerment of school committees in Tanzania. As for the third goal, the dissertation suggests
important policy issues to be addressed for increasing the empowerment of people at the
grassroots level in school governance.
The study from which this work is written was carried out in 2012 and 2013 in seven
purposefully selected districts/municipalities in Tanzania. The study employed a mixed methods
approach. 214 members of school committees and 96 non-members from 101 schools answered
a survey questionnaire. Additionally, 17 in-depth interviews with education officials, teachers
and parents were conducted. As a follow-up to the emerging issues from the survey, the study
also involved two focus-group discussions (one each) with parents and members of school
committees. The survey data were analysed quantitatively through the comparison of means,
independent sample t-tests, correlation analysis and multiple-linear regression analysis, all of
which are presented in the dissertation mainly through tabulation. The data from interviews and
focus groups were analysed through content analysis and are presented here in narrative form.
Fri, 05 Dec 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/88312014-12-05T00:00:00ZDiscounting, climate and sustainabilityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8821
Discounting, climate and sustainability
Moxnes, Erling
Journal article
Climate policy recommendations differ widely because of disagreements over what discount rates to use. Disagreement reduces the impact of economic models and signals a need for improved methodology. The problem is related to the choice of intergenerational welfare functions. A first questionnaire finds that the standard welfare function (SWF) fails to capture people's dislike of overshooting and fluctuating consumption paths. A second questionnaire reveals that when very-long-term sustainability of well-being is threatened, people's implicit discount rates resemble the low estimates used by the Stern Review. An alternative welfare function (AWF) reflecting consumption growth can potentially capture the preference structure revealed in both questionnaires. This makes the AWF an interesting candidate when searching for policies for sustainable development under uncertainty. Importantly, the questionnaires demonstrate that people are able to choose among policies by inspecting time graphs of policy consequences. Thus, it is possible to circumvent the complexities and disagreements introduced by welfare functions and discounting.
Sat, 03 May 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/88212014-05-03T00:00:00ZDoes Postponement of First Pregnancy Increase Gender Differences in Sickness Absence? A Register Based Analysis of Norwegian Employees in 1993–2007http://hdl.handle.net/1956/8804
Does Postponement of First Pregnancy Increase Gender Differences in Sickness Absence? A Register Based Analysis of Norwegian Employees in 1993–2007
Ariansen, Anja Maria Steinsland; Mykletun, Arnstein
Journal article
<p>Background: From 1970&ndash;2012, the average age at first delivery increased from 23.2&ndash;28.5 in Norway. Postponement of first pregnancy increases risks of medical complications both during and after pregnancy. Sickness absence during pregnancy has over the last two decades increased considerably more than in non-pregnant women. The aim of this paper is twofold: Firstly to investigate if postponement of pregnancy is related to increased sickness absence and thus contributing to the increased gender difference in sickness absence; and secondly, to estimate how much of the increased gender difference in sickness absence that can be accounted for by increased sickness absence amongst pregnant women.</p>
<p>Methods: We employed registry-data to analyse sickness absence among all Norwegian employees with income equivalent to full-time work in the period 1993&ndash;2007.</p>
<p>Results: After control for age, education, and income, pregnant women&rsquo;s sickness absence (age 20&ndash;44) increased on average 0.94 percentage points each year, compared to 0.29 in non-pregnant women and 0.14 in men. In pregnant women aged 20&ndash;24, sickness absence during pregnancy increased by 0.96 percent points per calendar year, compared to 0.60 in age-group 30&ndash;34. Sickness absence during pregnancy accounted for 25% of the increased gender gap in sickness absence, accounting for changes in education, income and age.</p>
<p>Conclusions: Postponement of first pregnancy does not explain the increase in pregnant women&rsquo;s sickness absence during the period 1993&ndash;2007 as both the highest level and increase in sickness absence is seen in the younger women. Reasons are poorly understood, but still important as it accounts for 25% of the increased gender gap in sickness absence.</p>
Tue, 25 Mar 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/88042014-03-25T00:00:00ZArbeidsmarkedet og progresjon i videregående opplæringhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8795
Arbeidsmarkedet og progresjon i videregående opplæring
Lillebø, Otto Sevaldson
Master thesis
Siden slutten av 2. verdenskrig har det vært en betydelig økning i antall personer som har fullført videregående opplæring og tatt høyere utdanning. Det synes å være konsensus blant politikere at fullføring av videregående opplæring reduserer risikoen for arbeidsledighet og sannsynligheten for å motta trygdestønader. Selv om reformer de siste 30 årene har tatt sikte på å forbedre gjennomstrømmingen i videregående opplæring, er det fortsatt en stor andel av elevene som avviker fra normert progresjon. Hvis det er slik at fullført videregående opplæring med forsinket progresjon i liten grad hjelper på arbeidsmarkedsutfallet senere i livet, kan det argumenteres for at forsinket progresjon i videregående opplæring er et vel så stort problem som frafall. Nye forskning på området prøver å forklare hvorfor elever avviker fra normert progresjon i videregående opplæring. Imidlertid er det lite norsk forskning på langtidseffekten av avvik fra normert progresjon. Formålet med denne oppgaven er å diskutere hvordan frafall og avvik fra normert progresjon i videregående opplæring påvirker arbeidsmarkedsutfall og sannsynligheten for å motta trygdestønader senere i livet.
Oppgaven beskriver forløpet i videregående opplæring, tilpasning i arbeidsmarkedet og mottak av trygdestønader. Resultatene indikerer at fullført videregående opplæring med forsinket progresjon påvirker sannsynligheten for å være sysselsatt negativt, sammenlignet med personer som falt fra videregående opplæring. Samtidig tyder resultatene på at sannsynligheten for å motta trygdestønader er høyere for personer som fullførte med forsinket progresjon, sammenlignet med personer som falt fra videregående opplæring. I alle analysene er det en klar positiv effekt av å fullføre videregående opplæring med normert progresjon, også når personer ikke har tatt høyere utdanning.
Datasettet inkluderer ingen informasjon om arbeidsforhold og sysselsetting i perioden mellom siste registrerte utdanning og analyseperioden. Det blir derfor også lagt vekt på hvordan manglende relevante variabler kan tenkes å påvirke de empiriske resultatene i oppgaven.
Statistikkprogrammet STATA/IC 13.1 og Microsoft Excel 2010 benyttes i oppgaven.
Fri, 29 Aug 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/87952014-08-29T00:00:00ZEffekten av surge på reversering av kapital i Indonesiahttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8794
Effekten av surge på reversering av kapital i Indonesia
Matondang, Imelda Lastri
Master thesis
I likhet med mange utviklingsland, har Indonesia en stor avhengighet av midler fra utviklede land. Kapitalinnstrømmingen til et land har uten tvil positiv innvirkning på den økonomiske utviklingen av landet. Men en for rask kapitalinnstrømming kan føre til en stor negativ effekt. Land som hadde nytt godt av internasjonal kapitalinnstrømming kan bli plutselig utsatt for kraftige endringer i kapitalmarkedet, med kapitalutgang og finansiell uro som følge. Dette fører til både ustabil valutakurs og økonomisk nedgang.
Formålet med denne oppgaven er å undersøke om det er noe effekt av en stor og plutselig kapitalstrømmer (surge) på reversering av kapital i Indonesia. Vi benytter data fra Bank Indonesia og OECD. Datasettet består av kvartalsvis dataobservasjoner i perioden 1995 til 2013. Disse blir analysert ved hjelp av E-views 8.
Resultatene tyder på et sterk bevis for at surge har positiv effekt på sannsynlighet for reversering av kapital. Videre viser det at en økning i porteføljeinvesteringer øker sannsynlighet for reversering av kapital. Resultatet tyder også på at en økning i offentlige utgifter reduserer sannsynligheten for reversering av kapital. Vi finner at en økning i reell valutakurs øker sannsynlighet for reversering av kapital, mens en økning i renten reduserer sannsynlighet for reversering av kapital. Til slutt finner vi at en økning i eksport øker sannsynligheten for reversering av kapital.
Sun, 31 Aug 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/87942014-08-31T00:00:00ZMigrant Labour and its impact on development in India.A case study from the new city of Gurgaonhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8793
Migrant Labour and its impact on development in India.A case study from the new city of Gurgaon
Kallevik, Sven Selås
Master thesis
In developing countries it has for long been the trend that only single migrants participate in the extensive rural-urban migration. With single migrants it is here meant migrants moving without bringing their family along. This exact phenomenon will be elaborated and enlightened in this thesis. In India, as well as in other countries, migrants play an integral role in the urban workforce. They offer a cheap, reliable (in the sense that they are many) and easy accessible service. The thesis put emphasis on how low-skilled labourers cope with life in an urban setting. Furthermore, through Research Problem I, it will be elaborated several reasons why these migrants choose to make the move, and why they in most cases do not bring their families along. It will also be discussed, through Research Problem II, how low-skilled migrants contribute to the economic development witnessed in contemporary India. Does the low wage received by urban migrants help poverty alleviation or is it purely an exploitation of the migrants by the employers? The thesis builds on qualitative collected data as in-depth interviews and on site observations, complemented by an extensive survey (n=72) undertaken by the author. The author has interviewed low-skilled labourers on the streets of Gurgaon and sub-urb Delhi. From this it became clear that there is a general agreement that the low-skilled labourers do not earn enough to make a living for a whole family in an urban situation. Then again, they earn more in the city than they do on the countryside, if they earn anything at all. It was many a time pointed to the lack of sufficient work opportunities in the countryside where most families practice within subsistence farming. In respect to the aspect of development the labour migrants was found to offer a significant contribution to the development occurring in contemporary Gurgaon. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee (MGNREGA) is a national government scheme put together to help employ villagers in non-agricultural sectors. The effects of this will to some extent also be elaborated in this thesis.; I utviklingsland har det lenge vært en trend at i hovedsak enslige migranter deltar i den ekstensive den rural-urbane migrasjon. Med enslige migranter er det her ment migranter som reiser uten familie eller annet følge. Dette fenomenet vil bli satt i fokus og utledet i denne oppgaven. I India, som i andre land, spiller migranter en sentral rolle i den urbane arbeidsstyrken. De tilbyr en billig, pålitelig (i form av at de er så mange) og lett tilgjengelig tjeneste. Denne oppgaven vil legge vekt på hvordan lavt utdannede arbeidere mestrer livet i et urbant miljø. Videre, ved hjelp av Problemstilling I, vil det bli greid ut om hvorfor migranten velger å migrere, og hvorfor de i de fleste tilfeller ikke tar med seg familien. Det vil også bli diskutert, ved hjelp av Problemstilling II, hvordan lavt utdannede migranter bidrar til den økonomiske utviklingen av India. Er det lave lønnsnivået gunstig med hensyn til fattigdomsbekjempelse eller er det utelukkende en utnytting av migrantene fra arbeidsgivers side? Oppgaven er baser på kvalitativt innsamlede data som dybde-intervjuer og observasjoner gjort i felt komplementert av en ekstensiv spørreundersøkelse (n=72) gjennomført av forfatteren. Forfatteren har intervjuet lavt utdannede arbeidere på gatene i Gurgaon og i forstads Delhi. Ut i fra dette ble det klart at det er en overenstemmelse om at de lavt utdannede migrantene ikkje tjener nok til å brødfø en hel familie i et urbant miljø. På den andre siden, tjener de mer i byen enn de gjør i landsbyen, om de tjener noenting som helst. Mange ganger pekte informantene på den mangelfulle tilgangen på arbeid på landsbygda hvor mesteparten av familien praktiserer subsistens jordbruk. Når det gjelder utvikling kom det klart frem at arbeidsmigrantene tilbyr betydelige bidrag til utviklingen som forgeår i dagens Gurgaon. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee (MGNREGA) er et nasjonalt program satt i stant for å hjelpe til sysselsetting av arbeidere i ikke-jordbruksrelaterte jobber i det rural India. Effektene av dette vil også til en viss grad bli tatt opp i denne oppgaven.
Mon, 01 Sep 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/87932014-09-01T00:00:00ZBarnløse menn. En empirisk analysehttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8792
Barnløse menn. En empirisk analyse
Gaarud, Jørgen Emil
Master thesis
Siden begynnelsen av 90-tallet har andelen barnløse menn i Norge
økt jevnt, fra omtrent 14 % til omtrent 22 % ved siste måling i 2012.
Samtidig har andelen barnløse kvinner holdt seg nokså stabil. Et
økende gap mellom andelen barnløse menn og barnløse kvinner har
derfor oppstått. Ved å bruke et utvalg bestående av alle menn født i
Norge i 1972 og 1973, påkoblet informasjon om inntekt,
utdanning, sivilstatus, næringstilknytning, yrkesstatus, informasjon
om bosted, trygdeytelser og uførestatus, forsøker oppgaven å
identifisere typiske kjennetegn ved menn som forblir barnløse.
Motivasjonen for oppgaven ligger i velferdspolitikken. Det er grunn
til å tro at en økende andel barnløse menn i dag vil føre til en
økende andel aleneboende, eldre menn i fremtiden. Dette vil være
av betydning for utbygging og planlegging av velferdspolitikk
fremover, da barnløse aleneboende ofte krever mer fra
velferdsstaten enn samboende par med barn.
Oppgaven finner at inntekt, utdanning og bosted har mye å si for
sannsynligheten for å forbli barnløs. Det har også sivilstatus,
trygdeytelser og uføregrad. Næringstilknytning og yrkesstatus har
mindre å si. Det viktigste funnet er muligens at menn med lav
utdanning bosatt i byer virker å være taperne på kjønnsmarkedet.
Menn med høyere utdanning bosatt i byer, samt menn med lavere
utdanning bosatt i rurale strøk, ser ut til å ha lavest sannsynlighet
for å forbli barnløse.
Statistikkprogrammet STATA 13 er benyttet i oppgaven.
Sun, 31 Aug 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/87922014-08-31T00:00:00ZHøyrepopulistiske partiers bruk av sosiale medier - en komparativ studie av to europeiske landhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8790
Høyrepopulistiske partiers bruk av sosiale medier - en komparativ studie av to europeiske land
Kvarme, Erik
Master thesis
Oppgavens formål var å studere hvordan de høyreradikale partiene Sverigedemokratene (SD) og United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) distribuerer sitt politiske budskap på det sosiale nettstedet YouTube. Felles for begge partier er at målgruppen deres primært slutter opp om partiet grunnet skepsis til EU medlemskap og innvandring. Mens Nigel Farage var en stabil leder for partiet fra 2006-2009, ble han i 2010 gjenvalgt som partileder og er partiets nåværende leder. Det svenske partiet SD derimot, har hatt Jimmie Åkesson som stabil leder siden 2005. Partienes gradvis større oppslutning de siste årene kan skyldes samfunnsutviklingen, ettersom stadig flere svensker og briter bekymrer seg over masseinnvandringen og deres nåværende forhold til EU. De skiller seg også ut ved at de har velgere fra et bredt spekter, noe som kan forklares ved at velgere fatter en mer bevisst avgjørelse når de velger å støtte disse partiene, nettopp fordi de ønsker å distansere seg fra de mer etablerte partiene. Tatt i betraktning at både innvandring og mistenksomheter til EU-medlemskap er partienes kjernesaker og velgernes interesseområder, vil nettopp disse temaene være sentrale aspekter i analysen. I så måte er det relevant å granske hvordan ideologi, retoriske virkemidler og lederfokus bidrar til å fremme disse temaene. De utgjør dermed oppgavens variabler. I tillegg til de fire videoleksjonene som skal studeres på YouTube, er også relevant faglitteratur og relevant informasjon fra andre nettsteder innhentet.
Oppgaven vil først gi en introduksjon av hvordan høyreradikale partier oppstår, før relevant teori, begreper og metode vil gjøres rede for. Dernest vil studien basere seg på fire analyseenheter som vil bidra til å forstå hvordan og hvorfor høyreradikale partier som SD og UKIP opererer på sosiale medier, samtidig som undersøkelsen av disse vil fremme en forståelse for hvordan de benytter seg av retoriske virkemidler i visuelle ytringer. Avslutningsvis fremlegges en oppsummering av de empiriske hovedfunnene.
Konklusjonen på studien er at den ideologiske kommunikasjonen har en fordel, ettersom den gjerne bærer preg av å benytte bilder som gjenspeiler virkeligheten. Samtidig oppnår avsender lettere den ønskede effekten ved at mottaker forstår og aksepterer budskapet og deler den virkelighetsoppfatning partiet representerer. På den annen side, dersom det visuelle reflekterer en virkelighetsoppfatning mottakeren ikke vil si seg enig i, innbyr partiet mottaker til å i stedet innta den opposisjonelle rollen (Kjeldsen, 2002: s. 60). Høyreradikale partier opplever ofte å refereres til som populistiske partier, hvilket innebærer at de blant annet kritiseres for å være ubesluttsomme, ustabile og usaklige. Samtidig hevder de etablerte partiene ofte at de høyreradikale frembringer usannsynlige løsninger til mer komplekse utfordringer, kun for å sanke flere stemmer. På den annen side, ser man at også disse holdningene utfordres, ettersom høyreradikale partier regnes som retorisk stabile og at velgergruppen er trofaste mot partiets politikk. Et eksempel er at både SD og UKIP refererer til tradisjonelle og kulturelle verdier som familiesyn, fellesskap og ønske om å bevare kulturarven. Partiene spiller dermed på folkelige verdier og normer, så vel som at de påtar seg offerrollen, ettersom partiene fryses ut både i media og av de andre partiene (Issued: What We Stand For).
Sun, 24 Aug 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/87902014-08-24T00:00:00ZLate Quaternary environmental reconstruction using foraminifera and sedimentary stratigraphy from Kapp Ekholm, Svalbardhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8789
Late Quaternary environmental reconstruction using foraminifera and sedimentary stratigraphy from Kapp Ekholm, Svalbard
Hovland, Alexander
Master thesis
SUMMARY
The Kapp Ekholm sedimentary sections is a key
location for our present understanding of the
two last glacial cycles on western Svalbard.
Its long sedimentary history (MIS 6 to present)
and its position almost at the center of the
Spitsbergen island distinguishes the site from
other localities on Svalbard. At least four
regional glacial advances are recorded in the
sections and are separated by marine intervals
deposited during relatively high sea level. The
marine intervals show a regressive trend
shallowing up-section. This stratigraphical
trend is in places interrupted by deposits from
slope-processes and fluvial-influence.
The foraminiferal stratigraphy of the
sublittoral intervals of Formation B (Eemian
interglacial), Formation F (Kapp Ekholm
interstadial) and Formation H (Holocene
interglacial) is described and interpreted from
Section II. The fauna generally shows a
moderate to distal glacial influence as
indicated by high ratios and frequencies of C.
reniforme and E. excavatum. There no consistent
up-section trend for any of the formations in
terms of glacial influence.
The fauna from the lower half of Formation B is
interpreted to indicate inflow of Atlantic
Water. The main indication of Atlantic Water
masses are high frequencies of N. auricula and
N. labradorica that suggest a seasonal inflow.
It is suggested that this period is associated
with increased Atlantic Meridional Overturning
Circulation (AMOC) at the transition between
MIS 6/5e or at the beginning of MIS 5e. In the
upper half, the inflow is shut down, and I.
norcrossi replaces both N. labradorica and I.
norcrossi. This suggests a stratified
hydrological environment where cold and saline
water dominate like today.
The foraminiferal fauna of Formation F (MIS
5a/b) and Formation H (c. 10-8 cal ka BP) shows
no indiciation of warm-water inflow and local
water masses probably dominated. Formations F
and H differ from Formation B by having more
species that are generally associated with
fluvial influenced environments including A.
gallowayi, E. subarcticum, H. orbiculare and.
This may suggest a depositional environment
closer to the coast than what is the case for
Formation B.
Sun, 19 Oct 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/87892014-10-19T00:00:00ZBanregulering og konkurranse. En teoretisk analysehttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8788
Banregulering og konkurranse. En teoretisk analyse
Høyheim, Gry
Master thesis
Denne oppgaven analyserer hvordan det at ulike banker står ovenfor ulike kapitalkrav påvirker konkurransen om norske boliglånskunder. Det fokuseres på forskjeller mellom standardmetodebanker og IRB-banker, og mellom norske og utenlandske banker.
Banker reguleres for å sikre robuste og velfungerende finansmarkeder. Solide banker er en forutsetning for både finansiell stabilitet og velfungerende finansmarkeder. Kapitalkravene er en viktig brikke for å sikre at bankene er solide. For ensidig fokus på soliditet kan imidlertid få utilsiktede følger for konkurransen i markedet. Hensikten med denne oppgaven er å identifisere disse følgene og eventuelt foreslå alternative løsninger dersom dagens regulering medfører uønskede endringer.
Oppgavens metode er teoretisk analyse. Jeg har brukt tre teoretiske modeller for å belyse problemstillingen: en enkel differensieringsmodell av Snyder og Nicholson (2012), en prisledermodell fra Mathiesen (2000) og en byttekostnadsmodell av Klemperer (1987b).
Jeg finner at måten norske myndigheter har implementert CRR/CRD IV-kravene på favoriserer norske standardmetodebanker og særlig utenlandske banker fremfor systemviktige, norske IRB-banker. På sikt kan dette føre til at de utenlandske bankenes markedsandeler vokser og at det norske bankmarkedet blir mer homogent. Dette vil kunne påvirke både kundene og samfunnet. Norske myndigheter bør også vurdere disse implikasjonene ved implementeringen av kapitalkravene.
Mon, 01 Sep 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/87882014-09-01T00:00:00ZMama, I wont't go to school. Conflictual relations between education and fishing among the children of Anomabo in the central region of Ghanahttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8784
Mama, I wont't go to school. Conflictual relations between education and fishing among the children of Anomabo in the central region of Ghana
Sackey, Winfred Kweku
Master thesis
It is on records that the Central region along the coastal stretch of Ghana was the first to have received formal education during the colonial period as early as the 18th century. This is evident by the fact that the region serves as the hub of one of best and oldest educational institutions in Ghana, which have produced many scholars. After making such early strides in education, one would have expected steady progress in school enrolment among children in most communities in the region. Paradoxically, recent reports show rather a gloomy picture of declining school enrolment among children in the region, even compared with other regions of the country.
The ongoing debate about the low school enrolment in Ghana's coastal areas has widely centered on cost. From the 1990s, the government of Ghana has undertaken several educational programs and policies intended to increase school enrolment in these fishing communities; notwithstanding, nothing has come out of these policies. The central assumption of these debates is that access to educational facilities is significantly impaired by high costs and hence least-cost option interventions would increase school enrolment.
The thesis elucidates that beyond these economic factors highlighted as decisive of the recent school enrolment trend in the region, sociocultural factors are equally important in such analyses and hence deserves attention in the country's educational policy debate. Based on an ethnographic approach, the thesis discusses the broader factors that account for school enrolment trend in a fishing community in the Central region of Ghana to shed light on this debate.
In the course of the fieldwork, both the parents and the children of Anomabo expressed the relevance of education, yet they are confronted with several quandaries for choosing between education and their traditional occupation (fishing), hence this conflict. The preference for fishing and related businesses over school as expressed by most parents and children cannot be reduced to solely economics (poverty) but also the fact that the livelihood is extricable entwined with their way of life. Children from fishing households are therefore torn between choosing fishing livelihood and school or at best ought to struggle to manage the two simultaneously.
My argument in this thesis is that, even though cost plays a cardinal role in influencing access to education, a range of sociocultural factors nonetheless are more telling on school enrolment in Anomabo.
The major focus of the study is to examine the conflictual relations existing between education and fishing among the children of Anomabo. The "conflict relations" does not only denote factors that inhibit school attendance but also issues that may constrain proper concentration in classrooms. The study sheds light on how fishing and its related activities such as fish trading attracts and keep children from school. The world views of the people are explored using political ecology framework, phenomenological perspective and the concept of intergenerational relations.
Fri, 20 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/87842014-06-20T00:00:00ZRebel, rebel. Kvinner i Kairos liv og møte med seksuell trakassering of overgrephttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8783
Rebel, rebel. Kvinner i Kairos liv og møte med seksuell trakassering of overgrep
Heltne, Silje
Master thesis
Seksuell trakassering og seksulisert vold varierer innenfor ulike etnografiske, kulturelle og sosioøkonomiske faktorer. Her forsøker jeg å forklare hvordan seksuell trakassering og overgrep må forstås i Kairo i 2012, og videre dokumentere hvordan dette henger sammen med makt og motstandsforhold i Egypt.
Mon, 16 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/87832014-06-16T00:00:00ZThe Role of Norad's Oil for development programme in environmental management in Ghanahttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8782
The Role of Norad's Oil for development programme in environmental management in Ghana
Trier, Nicola Joanne
Master thesis
ABSTRACT
Norad's Oil for Development (OfD) programme entered an
agreement with Ghana in 2008 following Ghana's major oil
discovery in the Jubilee Field in 2007. Mainly using policies based
on the internationally approved concept good governance', and on
Norwegian oil experience, the programme aims to assist the
country in avoiding a resource curse. One area of focus in OfD's
programme is environmental governance and, using a political
ecology approach, this study examines the nature of this assistance
and its possible impact on Ghana's environmental management of
its oil industry. From a geographical perspective, the place-
specificity of strategies, which is necessary in environmental
management, is not sufficient, and the concept environmentality'
may be applied to describe the power-laden nature of the
programme and the OfD discourse's framing of issues related to the
collaboration. Accusations of conflicts of interest between the
private and public sector also lead to the programme omitting
issues relevant to Ghana's environmental oil governance. Its
institutional capacity-building approach has, arguably,
strengthened the structure of environmental institutions at the
macro-level, but is unlikely to be sufficient in strengthening
Ghana's environmental management of its oil sector as a whole.
Sat, 30 Aug 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/87822014-08-30T00:00:00Z"All they want is to be treated well": Public health care in the rural Ecuadorian Andeshttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8781
"All they want is to be treated well": Public health care in the rural Ecuadorian Andes
Rokne, Veronika
Master thesis
Abstract
In thesis I describe the meeting between
biomedical health care and indigenous patients in
rural Ecuadorian Andes. I show how biomedical
conceptualization of health and good treatment
differs from local understandings. Ecuador is a
hierarchical society, where marginalization of the
indigenous population has become naturalized. In
the community where I did my fieldwork this
marginalization became visible through health
care. Firstly rural areas have been, and are,
under prioritized in terms of staff and medical
equipment. Secondly, poverty is a huge strain on
the peasants' health. Hard work wears their bodies
out, and they have no access to safe drinking
water. At the public health clinics the patients
are met by a doctor who often scolds them for not
taking care of themselves rather than addressing
their illness. Many patients are afraid of the
doctor, who in turn is frustrated because the
patients do not come to the clinic, making it
necessary to seek them out in their homes.
At first glance the distance between patients and
doctor seem enormous. But there are health agents
who can bridge this distance. Auxiliares de
enfermería (nursing assistants) mediate between
biomedicine and Andean conceptualizations of
health and sickness. They are trusted by the
patients, and work to encourage them to seek out
public health care. In this thesis I argue that
until medical doctors are able to be culturally
sensitive, it is vital for good health care to
employ local health agents. At my fieldsite this
role was filled by the auxiliares de enfermería,
who not only assisted the doctor and translated
for her, but functioned as medical authorities in
the communities. Their work bridged the gap
between patients and doctor, local beliefs and
biomedical practices.
Thu, 19 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/87812014-06-19T00:00:00ZThe Impact of Engineering Process on the Construction Cost of HVDC Offshore Wind Energy Converter Station: A system dynamics approachhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8780
The Impact of Engineering Process on the Construction Cost of HVDC Offshore Wind Energy Converter Station: A system dynamics approach
Tadesse, Aklilu Tilahun
Master thesis
Aibel As, a Norwegian based service company, which has core
businesses on the oil, gas and renewable energy sectors, needed
improved work performance with a reduced cost of construction.
For the purpose the company requested an in depth study to one
of its first wind energy project, DolWin Beta. A recent internal
study of the company shows that the man-hours used in recently
completed projects and on projects that are near to their
completions, have significantly increased compared to similar
previous projects. This is of concern because the engineering
processes are the cornerstones that all the company's activities are
founded on. A multiphase system dynamic model that represents
the engineering process of the company was built on the basis of
previously developed and tested project structures. Simulations
describe the behavior generated by the interaction of customized
engineering phases and a project management structure. Each
phase explicitly models the impacts of work process, resource
capacity, scope, and targets on three engineering activities: regular
processing, quality assurance, and rework. Project performance is
measured in cost, cycle time, and quality. The model was
calibrated to the DolWin Beta project of Aibel AS. Sensitivity tests
indicate that two of performance measures (cost and quality) are
more sensitive to the work precedence relations and minimum
quality assurance parameters. Comparison between the simulated
and historical record of the DolWin Beta engineering process
shows that the model replicates the actual work progress during
most of the development period. The model was also applied to
the investigation of schedule completion date policies for
improved project performance. Seven different schedule
completion scenarios were tested. Model simulations indicate that
internal deadlines, in addition to the project deadline, are vital for
the successful completion of engineering works. We found that
project could be more benefited when internal deadlines for
engineering process is set to around 1/5 of the planned project
deadline.
Tue, 26 Aug 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/87802014-08-26T00:00:00ZModeling the Integration of Global Talent and the current University-Industry collaboration in Norwayhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8778
Modeling the Integration of Global Talent and the current University-Industry collaboration in Norway
Mainou Gomez, Jose Francisco
Master thesis
Despite the yearly increment on the population of international students [1], just about 46.8% of them take their first professional job in Norway after graduation. The above data neglects ERASMUS and exchange students. In addition, according the Norwegian labor and welfare department, about 50,000 foreigners were needed to supply Norway's need of high skilled labor force in 2012 [2, 3] and projections indicate this trend will remain [11]. Moreover, the university-industry collaboration has been linked to the transition of graduate international students to the Norwegian labor market and it seems that universities cannot easily meet the expectation and needs for both, private and public firms, in terms of high skilled workers [2, 8].
Among the reference literature some ideas and possible solutions can be found: 1) A statistical report about the integration of global talent in Norway suggests that one way to supply the need of high skilled labor force is by hiring Global Talent [2]. 2) Industry claims the university labors itself when bringing international students; University looks for its own interest [2, 3]. 3)The cooperation between University and Industry in Norway has been gradually increasing when it comes to R&D, but when it comes to teaching and specific program there is still to keep mutual university-industry agreements alive and stronger [8,22]. Could the integration of GT to the Norwegian labor force crucial to activate the exponential growth of the expected university-Industry collaboration? How?
A framework for depicting and simulating the transition of international graduate students to the Norwegian labor with special attention to the unemployment amount them, the huge demand of skilled worker in Norway, and University-industry collaboration has been successfully developed using stock and flow diagrams to show how the problem develops over time and what are the likely consequences of both the current structures and the suggested solutions.
The best results are achieved by combining all suggested ideas and turned into a combined policy: Industrial University Programs". The government, University, and industry could make the most of global talent while also solving their own needs; Norway could be ahead as Knowledge-based Economy. To prevent clogging from massive resistance to the Industrial University Programs:
The cooperation, and role between university, industry must be very clear. University programs most not benefit all industrial needs, and the university should keep autonomous in the research line. Industry most support student taking program that already exist in the university curricula and that closely matches their need. Some combined programs can be designed in the case of CRIs.
Enabling. We provide Industry with the labor it needs, but it most cooperate by supporting university's existing programs rather than trying to residing curricula. University will be provided with extra funds, but it should be also more selective when admitting new students to match the student's professional profile to industry need.
Industrial Programs do not represent expenditure for the government in terms of funding, or taxation, or changing constitutional laws. We are creating a new monopoly called: Industrial Programs that is or becomes subject to Allied control between the government, industry and university.
Mon, 30 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/87782014-06-30T00:00:00Z"Isso é nossa realidade" (This is our reality): Beyond images of Amazoniahttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8744
"Isso é nossa realidade" (This is our reality): Beyond images of Amazonia
Lien, Yngvil Sandal
Master thesis
This thesis explores the images and representations of Amazonia as a tropical rain forest, and how they influence the way people tend to picture the area. Shaped through trajectories of history, national expansion and environmentalism, these images comes into being through actions; the way the Brazilian state and development organisations have established projects in the area. Having been described as an uninhabited, tropical rain forest, only inhabited by the pristine Amerindians, the non-indigenous part of the population has become invisible in these representations. My fieldwork was carried out in an island community outside Belém, the provincial capital of Pará, and explores the resource management the local islanders practiced in their livelihoods. Combining spheres of urban, rural, traditional and modern aspects, the islanders carried out their livelihoods in small-scale, multi-use strategies combining different sectors, and as I argue throughout my thesis, in sustainable manners. They were modern resource managers; taking advantage of the local knowledge of their given landscape. Working with a local women's movement concerned with acknowledging women's participation in agricultural livelihoods gave me insight in women's role in livelihood activities. The way modern and traditional knowledge and techniques were combined proved local communities in Amazonia to be important in relation to sustainable development projects, and should be included in the overarching image of Amazonia.
Thu, 19 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/87442014-06-19T00:00:00ZPublic education in latin america's lowest performing country. The Impact of inequality and violence among children and youth in Lima and Cusco in Peruhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8743
Public education in latin america's lowest performing country. The Impact of inequality and violence among children and youth in Lima and Cusco in Peru
Montalvan Castilla, Johana Evelyn
Master thesis
Measurements of learning outcomes have found that too many children in Peru are graduating from primary school without having achieved competency in literacy or numeracy (Barrett, 2009). Results show that seven out of ten elementary school pupils cannot understand what they read and about nine out of ten struggle doing mathematics at the expected level. In order to raise school performance, state policies have largely focused on improving schools' infrastructures, changing curricular designs and on trying to update the knowledge of teachers. This thesis argues that besides those factors, numerous socioeconomic issues which hamper school performance should be addressed. Among them, inequality (predominantly poverty) and the prevalence of corporal punishment toward children should be acted upon if higher school performance is desired. My argument is that most children and youth try to balance life and school. They study, work and help their families with daily chores. As this desired balance often proves to be unattainable, going to school is perceived as a burden and instills a deep sense of inadequacy among students.
Fri, 01 Aug 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/87432014-08-01T00:00:00ZLove and responsibility: an ethnography of masculinities and marriage in urban Egypthttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8742
Love and responsibility: an ethnography of masculinities and marriage in urban Egypt
Norbakk, Mari
Master thesis
This thesis deals with masculinity in Cairo, Egypt. It argues that masculinity has an interactional basis, in the sense of G.H. Mead's theory of the self. (1934)
The thesis is an ethnographic exploration of some interactional aspects of masculinity. Central questions are
- Do men have alternative arenas for asserting masculinity in times of financial insecurity?
- How do men deal with negative media-fuelled stereotypes of themselves?
- How do hopes and desires for their marriage manifest and influence both them and their society?
Inspired by recent calls for ethnographic accounts of Middle Eastern masculinities (Inhorn 2012, Ghannam 2013), this thesis seeks to contribute to this body of literature. The focus of the ethnographic exploration has been young men before and in the process of getting married. Marriage and especially the process of getting married give the anthropologist the opportunity to observe the young men in a process of a life-altering period of time. Topics such as economic status, hopes and desires for the future, material symbols of manhood all manifest in and around the event of marriage. The way the young men speak of and hope for love is central, and sheds light on the process of changing, and at the same time maintaining the patriarchal structures.
Masculinities are ambiguous and in constant flux. They have an emergent character, and as such, contribute to larger processes of emergence. The thesis deals with how men as gendered agents manoeuvre and navigate social and cultural structures to create space of action. This space of action is then capitalized on by becoming arenas for alternative production and performance of masculinity. Manoeuvrings in this sense feeds into ideas of patriarchal norms, changing and in some ways weakening, and in others reinforcing, the patriarchal systems.
Wed, 11 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/87422014-06-11T00:00:00ZWhat are the gendered implications of neoliberal land grabs? A case study of Rufiji River Basin in Rufiji district, coast region in Tanzaniahttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8741
What are the gendered implications of neoliberal land grabs? A case study of Rufiji River Basin in Rufiji district, coast region in Tanzania
Mbezi, Rose George
Master thesis
Abstract
This thesis explores the gendered implications of the neoliberal land grab in Rufiji River basin in Tanzania. I set out to deconstruct the taken for granted assumptions concerning the state/legal approaches in the implementation of the neoliberal land grab, especially as how the grabs relate to the Warufiji gendered land relations as well as the multiple meanings of land in the basin. In the thesis I argue that most of the taken for granted Tanzanian government oriented neoliberal land grab practices do not correspond with the social, cultural, economic set up of Warufiji lives. An overarching inspiration to the research here and the argument of the thesis comes from Foucault's concept of power-knowledge' and his critique of objective truth'. According to Foucault truth' is relative because each society has its regime of truth. Thus, what is true in one society might not necessarily be true in another. Based on Foucault's concept of objective truth', I argue that the meaning of land is not homogenous; people and communities conceptualize and understand land in unique, distinct ways. For instance to Warufiji land is conceptualized in three categories namely: first, the bare land with no crops, second the bare land with crops and third the crops especially mango, coconut and cashew trees. Warufiji conceptualization of land is thereby contrary to state/legal definition of land which is understood to encompass soil above and below the surface of the earth with plants germinated or grown on it, buildings, rocks and mountains. Therefore a critical understanding of the current land grab process in Tanzania should be understood beyond formal, legal or state oriented approaches and instead examined in a specific contexts and how these articulate with/are in conflict with local conceptions relating to gender as well as the socio-cultural order in general. In this context, gender dimension is central to the ongoing neoliberal land grab in Tanzania because land market relations are inherently gendered and have gendered effects. I have therefore used gender as an analytical tool to examine the way men and women are affected in the process of land commodification. I have seen that land commodification contradicts what I have termed the Warufiji organic nature regime and the Warufiji broader social, political, economical and cultural framework in such matters as the meaning of land, land ownership and control, gendered division of labour to mention a few aspects. In this thesis I have argued that Warufiji men and women are differently impacted as a result of the neo liberal land grabbing process. In this way, the subject of my thesis contributes to a broader debate concerning the anthropology of the gendered impact of the neoliberal land grab in Africa.
Key words: Land grab, Neo-liberalism, Gender
Thu, 19 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/87412014-06-19T00:00:00ZCarbon capture utilization and storage market dynamics: Matching CO2 supply and demand for enhanced oil recoveryhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8740
Carbon capture utilization and storage market dynamics: Matching CO2 supply and demand for enhanced oil recovery
Romanenko, Eduard
Master thesis
This thesis describes the project, which is a part of a wider
collaboration between the University of Bergen, Norway and the
University of North Dakota (UND) and the Institute for Energy
Studies (IES), US established in March 2013. The project was
performed by Eduard Romanenko, the author of this thesis,
together with his European Master in System Dynamics colleague
Julian Andres Gill Garcia, who focused on a different but related
aspect of the issue, under the supervision of Prof. Pål Davidsen
(University of Bergen) and Scott T. Johnson, a Principal Advisor in
the IES. The fieldwork was conducted in March-May 2014 in Grand
Forks, ND.
There is currently a significant number of carbon capture,
utilization, and storage (CCUS) technologies under development
and assessment in the US and globally. Most of these technologies
have been tested in small scale. The IES has developed and
successfully tested the UND technology called CACHYS. Yet, the
further commercialization of this and similar technologies is
constrained by unfavorable economics of high costs and uncertain
potential benefits. On the other hand, there is the CO2-Enhanced
Oil Recovery (EOR) industry whose current development is
constrained by the lack of CO2 supplies. For the CCUS developers
like the IES, CO2-EOR represents an excellent source of demand,
which has the potential to pay additional costs of CCUS
commercialization. The challenge is that there is a gap between the
maximum willingness to pay for CO2 by EOR operators and the
costs of CO2 capture by the CCUS. Yet, there is a potential for costs
reduction attributed to anticipate learning effect in the CCUS
industry.
To study the problem, the system dynamics model of an integrated
CO2-EOR-CCUS system, similar to the demand-pull market for
carbon dioxide currently developing in the Permian Basin, TX, has
been constructed. By making explicit the key feedback structure
behind the CO2-EOR-CCUS system, the model reveals the
reinforcing mechanisms that can potentially generate the self-
sustaining growth and provides a simulation environment where
policies aimed at activating those mechanisms can be tested on
their robustness.
The thesis is structured as following. Chapter 1 defines the context,
problem, research objectives and research questions. Chapter 2
describes the structure of the model both from stock-and-flow and
feedback perspective. Chapter 3 is devoted to the behavior that the
model produces. Chapter 4 establishes the confidence in the model
through validation analysis. Chapter 5 deals with policy design and
testing. The thesis concludes with the summary of results, a
discussion on limitations and directions for further work.
Fri, 15 Aug 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/87402014-08-15T00:00:00ZDevelopment of a system dynamics framework for analysing regional economies: The Sunshine coast casehttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8739
Development of a system dynamics framework for analysing regional economies: The Sunshine coast case
Andrade Ortiz, Jair Albert
Master thesis
Policy Makers and stakeholders of the Sunshine
Coast are aware of the significance of the current
juncture, in which the performance of the economy
has been deteriorating over the last years.
Consequently, the status quo or laissez-faire is
no longer an option and actions must be taken. The
result of such acknowledgement is a set of
pathways to significantly improve the performance
of the local economy over the next 20 years by the
support of five game-changer projects and seven
key high-value industries proposed in a strategy
known as the The Sunshine Coast Economic
Development Strategy".
System Dynamics Group at University of Bergen and
Sunshine Coast's stakeholders agreed to assist in
the analysis and evaluation of The Sunshine Coast
Economic Development Strategy" by the means of a
System Dynamics quantified simulation model. The
purpose of the simulation model is defined as
being a tool that provides a framework that
accounts for the performance of local economy, and
wherein improvement proposals such as the ones
contained The Sunshine Coast Economic Development
Strategy" can be assessed.
The modelling process is carried out in an
incremental and iterative fashion. The iterative
process can be seen as the construction of
prototypes likely to be enhanced in a next
iteration. As a result, two prototype models are
developed. The first prototype consists of a
disaggregated demographic structure that accounts
for the dynamics of the population and labour
force, and a basic structure that represents
employment and overall productivity. This
prototype is used to unravel the causes of the
deterioration in the Sunshine Coast's economy.
The second prototype integrates the concept of
aggregated demand by incorporating a structure
that breaks down the economy into 19 industries at
division level based on the Australian and New
Zealand Standard Industry Classification (ANZSIC).
In addition, tourism concept is clarified in the
context of the economy and linked to the model.
The result is a tool that allows the analysis and
evaluation of improvement proposals.
Thu, 03 Jul 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/87392014-07-03T00:00:00ZBusiness Strategy Deltares' Delft3D. How to adjust business strategy of the company according to the changes in the organizational policieshttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8738
Business Strategy Deltares' Delft3D. How to adjust business strategy of the company according to the changes in the organizational policies
Iurchenko, Veronika
Master thesis
A research institute in the field of coastal life and infrastructure has changed its strategy from licensing to the open-source code for the Delft3D modelling software - the company decided to use dare to share" concept. In order to increase the number of users of the product, the company was looking for a methodology that could help to understand how to do that well. System Dynamics had been chosen as a tool, which is helpful to analyze the current strategy (to see how the system is working now) and create the policy in order to reach the goal and adjust the strategy. In order to do that, we will research the effectiveness of previous marketing efforts and test them in the model.
Wed, 02 Jul 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/87382014-07-02T00:00:00ZHistory matters. A comparative analysis of historical legacies and post-communist corruptionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8737
History matters. A comparative analysis of historical legacies and post-communist corruption
Dalsbø, Thomas
Master thesis
This thesis investigates the empirical relationship between historical legacies and post-communist corruption. A common argument in the post-communist corruption literature is that the current problems of corruption should be traced to either the communist past or to the transition from the socialist economy. However, this thesis join the ranks of Møller and Skaaning (2010) who claims that deep structural causes are of the essence: causes that transcends both the transition from the socialist economy and the communist experience. In particular, the hypothesis that pre-communist bureaucratic legacies can explain much of the current variation in levels of post-communist corruption, receives support. In contrast to Møller and Skaaning (2010) I use time-series cross-section (TSCS) data (they apply cross-sectional data) and test the hypothesis against a larger battery of alternative explanations. The main conclusion of this study is that levels of post-communist corruption largely can be explained by historical legacies. Furthermore, this study finds evidence for the impact of imperial legacies (which is a closely related variable to bureaucratic legacies) and it finds partial support for the effect of a protestant heritage. In addition, it shows that post-communist countries on average are more corrupt than other countries, but argue that this difference also reflect pre-communist causes that got reproduced during communism.
Mon, 02 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/87372014-06-02T00:00:00Z"Work and Strengthening": Ontological dualism and the ethical treatment of mentally ill patients in Madagascarhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8736
"Work and Strengthening": Ontological dualism and the ethical treatment of mentally ill patients in Madagascar
Krosby, Alexander Francois Borello
Master thesis
This thesis is based on fieldwork within a revival movement in Madagascar that treats mentally ill patients with exorcism. I explore the meaning of submission and the problem of ontological dualism based on my experiences.
Mon, 11 Aug 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/87362014-08-11T00:00:00ZSocial protection. A case study of Asante Mamponghttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8735
Social protection. A case study of Asante Mampong
Addo, Cynthia
Master thesis
ABSTRACT
Studies have shown that formal insurance in
developing countries are rare. As a result,
insurance in these countries are usually achieved
through reciprocal support arrangement where there
is risk-pooling among members to support each
other in times of shock and adversities. Though
ethnographers have described many different ways
in which people cope with risk, the topic still
remain unexplored area of research. The aim of
this master thesis was to gain a better
understanding of the measures and mediums through
which the people of Asante Mampong in the Ashanti
Region of Ghana insure themselves against social
and economic insecurities. I outlined the ways of
building up security through being a responsible
social actor, as well as being a person who take
actions towards security with micro finance and
credit unions.
I used the theory of social capital as a way to
bridge the age-old sociological dichotomy of
structure and agency. I draw on Robert Putnam's
social capital theoretical conceptions of trust,
norms and social networks to examine the ways in
which people that lack formal social protection
secure and insure themselves. The study relied on
qualitative data, gained from participant
observation, during six months fieldwork in Asante
Mampong, and coupled with interviews with key
informants to provide data for analysis.
The study found that livelihoods in Asante Mampong
are embedded in social relationships. At the
centre of these social relationships are
individuals who are members of many different
social circles. These relations are very important
to further individual goals and aspirations. The
people are conscious of this fact and through
social networks, coupled with trust and accepted
norms of expected behaviours employ them to
accomplish their goals and further their present
as well as future aspirations. The thesis
therefore, argues for the usefulness of social
capital as an analytical tool in the study of
social protection.
Keywords: Social protection, Insurance, Informal
insurance, Social capital, Trust, Norms, Social
network, Reciprocity.
Sun, 29 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/87352014-06-29T00:00:00ZTunfisk på boks og bærekraft på hylla. En studie av den norske dagligvarehandelens rolle i håndteringen av et bærekraftproblem.http://hdl.handle.net/1956/8733
Tunfisk på boks og bærekraft på hylla. En studie av den norske dagligvarehandelens rolle i håndteringen av et bærekraftproblem.
Fjørtoft, Kaja Knutsdotter
Master thesis
<p>Denne studien undersøker hvorvidt ikke-statlige aktører på etterspørselssiden kan være med
på å styre et bærekraftproblem i en situasjon der forvaltningen ikke strekker til.
Bærekraftproblemet peker på den komplekse situasjonen med tunfiskfangst, som inkluderer
blant annet miljøskadelige fangstmetoder, ulovlig fiske, bifangst og overfiske. Offentlig
forvaltning makter ikke å begrense disse problemene i tilstrekkelig grad. En av årsakene er at
fangstflåtene benytter bekvemmelighetsflagg og omregistrerer flaggstat for å kunne drive
ulovlig virksomhet uten å bli gjenkjent. En annen årsak er at det ikke finnes noe internasjonalt
informasjonssystem for overvåking av tunfiskfangst, noe som gjør informasjonen fragmentert.</p><p>Ved hjelp av dokumentanalyse og informantintervju drøfter studien rollen til de fire store
norske dagligvareaktørene NorgesGruppen, REMA, Coop og ICA. Disse fire omsetter flere
millioner bokser hermetisk tunfisk i året. Studien spør på hvilke måter de kan bruke sin rolle
som innkjøper til å påvirke bærekraft i tunfiskfiskeriene. Siktemålet er å undersøke på hvilke
måter disse fire store dagligvareaktørene kan fungere som aktører i håndteringen av
bærekraftproblemet med tunfisk.</p><p>Sentrale funn slår fast at dagligvareaktørene på flere måter kan være aktør, og at de på noen
måter fungerer som aktører, men i begrenset omfang. Ett funn er at dagligvareaktørene kan
etterspørre sporbare produkter og kreve, samt kontrollere, at dokumenter skal være lovlige.
To av virkemidlene som dagligvareaktørene til en viss grad bruker for å oppnå dette er: (1) å
regulere innkjøp ved å stille krav til art, fangstmetoder og bifangst, og (2) kreve sporbarhet
gjennom sertifisering og informasjon fra leverandørene. Studien har gjort et interessant funn
om sertifisering av tunfisk. Blant de tre vanlige sertifiseringene av hermetisk tunfisk har
Dolphin Safe liten relevans, da den vanligste arten i hermetikk ikke svømmer med delfiner,
Friend of the sea hevdes å være lite troverdig, og Marine Stewardship Council hevdes å virke
mot sin uttalte hensikt. Sistnevnte begrunnes med at kravene i sertifiseringen er lette å tilpasse
seg for de store fangstflåtene, men ikke de små, lokale fiskebåtene som i utgangspunktet
fisker på mer bærekraftig vis. Dette øker bransjens makt på bekostning av både lokale fiskere
og makten til det offentlige forvaltningsapparatet.</p>
Tue, 10 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/87332014-06-10T00:00:00Z"Becoming urban". A study of post-relocation life and livelihood changes among former peasants in Chenggong, Chinahttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8713
"Becoming urban". A study of post-relocation life and livelihood changes among former peasants in Chenggong, China
Yang, Cheng
Master thesis
This thesis presents an ethnographic study of post-relocation life and livelihood of the land-lost peasants" in Chenggong, China. The wider context for my study is the ongoing process of urbanization in the country. Drastic urbanization all over China during the last two decades has produced land-lost peasants" as a new group of subjects within the Chinese rural population, a group that saw their land appropriated in the name of development. The land has been taken by the state, referring to the reality of state land-tenure in China, while the peasants got cash compensation in return, as part of their relocation. Many studies of such urbanization processes have shown that the loss of land and the relocation often have caused poverty and the rupture of the village collective. Urbanization in China has therefore been interpreted as processes of state power and discipline in China and cases of popular resistance against such state power. My study is part of this Chinese story of urbanization, but my empirical findings modify the impression that all urbanization in China only leads to negative problems for the people involved.
Kunming's urban expansion plans to include Chenggong, a well-known agricultural county, as its sixth district with its new municipal government complex and a college town. The villagers of this study come originally from three adjacent villages that lost their land for the construction of the college town and who were subsequently relocated to the same resettlement residential compound located among the college campuses. Villagers are supposed to live like urbanites in this urban residential compound, but my study shows that the standardized urban residential compound and urban settings do not urbanize people immediately. Instead, they manage to revive their village ways of life, and to continue to value their social network within it. Sponsored by the local state, some villagers continue as peasants in neighboring counties. These farming entrepreneurs lead a semi-rural and semi-urban life, yet they become used in state propaganda in the media as typical evidence of how urbanization actually benefits land-lost peasants. The remaining majority of villagers stay in Chenggong to exploit the local markets in various ways, for labor as well as for commercial activities. A close relationship emerges between land-lost peasants and the local urbanization in that villagers' wealth (wage, property value, collective dividend) is closely related to the development of Chenggong. Based on the ethnographic study, I argue that the re-territorialization of land-lost peasants in Chenggong after relocation is not only a top-down process, defined by the state. Rather, it is achieved based on local dynamics, which include the locational advantage, the special nature of the college town, the intervention of local policies and, most importantly, the agency of the people themselves. In conclusion, I reflect on the way the ongoing urbanization process I have observed in Chenggong relates to broader processes of rural subject making in the history of socialist China. I conclude that my case shows that a new subjectivity may emerge among land-lost peasants in Chenggong, a subjectivity which may move people in directions not envisaged by the Chinese state. The key element here is variation - as the effects of such changes will vary between the sexes, across generations and with available economic...
Thu, 19 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/87132014-06-19T00:00:00ZManaging the threat of violence in Guatemala: Violence as part of women's everyday liveshttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8712
Managing the threat of violence in Guatemala: Violence as part of women's everyday lives
Nielsen, Anja Karin
Master thesis
In this thesis I explore the prevalence of violence against women in Guatemala. Violence is considered a part of everyday life because it has become normalized. By normal" I refer to both the frequency of the act and its perceived legitimacy. Due to this normalization, much violence is considered something women should simply endure. Although women suffer different types of violence, I argue that they must be seen within the same framework and I show how violence in public and private sphere cannot be separated. Violent practices have become normatively supported, largely based on gender expectations, such as women's morality. Gender inequalities have not only enabled normalization, but to a large degree societal acceptance of violence. The result has been that women have often been blamed for violence perpetrated against them, particularly those who transgress moral and physical gender boundaries. There is a widespread notion that violence rarely happens to good women". Gender ideology permeates much of Guatemalan society, both on the street, in the home, in the courtroom, and at the scene of the crime. Impunity has reigned in cases of violence and women's (perceived) morality has affected the outcome of investigations. I explore how some women have not been considered worthy" victims (as opposed to others), largely based on morality, class, and ethnicity.
I show how there is a continuum of violence in women's lives. Violence is not only prevalent, but women experience several types of violence on an everyday basis. Because both the home and the street" present palpable dangers to women, and because violence in the street penetrates the perceived safety of the home, there are no safe-zones" in women's lives. What becomes important, then, is managing the constant threat of violence and fear. I explore women's fear as political fear because societal structures have enabled normalization of violence against women.
Wed, 30 Jul 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/87122014-07-30T00:00:00ZRisiko for tilregnelighet: en sosiologisk analyse av strafferettspsykiatrisk praksis omkring tilregnelighetsspørsmålhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8711
Risiko for tilregnelighet: en sosiologisk analyse av strafferettspsykiatrisk praksis omkring tilregnelighetsspørsmål
Løvlie, Audun Gabriel
Master thesis
Temaet for oppgaven er rettspsykiatrisk praksis i sammenheng med strafferettslig tilregnelighet. Utgangspunktet for prosjektet ligger i den omtale og kontrovers som følger den norske rettspsykiatrien, særlig etter 22. Juli-saken. Likevel er ikke 22. Juli-saken utgangspunktet for oppgavens problemstilling. Det er heller en interesse for å få en forståelse for og belyse hvordan rettspsykiatrisk sakkyndige gjennomfører sitt arbeid med den tiltalte og deres møte med de rettsvitenskapelige ekspertene i rettssalen.
Oppgaven er for det første motivert ut ifra den omtalte maktdistribusjon som oppstår i møtet mellom psykiatri og rettsvitenskap når en tiltalts tilregnelighet er vurdert og står sentralt i sakens forhandlinger. Makten de rettspsykiatriske sakkyndige besitter i straffesaker har blitt fremstilt som for innflytelsesrik. Spesielt i lys av det vitenskapelige og kliniske arbeidets karakter, som gjennomføres på vegne av retten. For det andre er oppgaven motivert ut ifra spørsmål om hvilke konsekvens arbeidet de sakkyndige utfører har eller kan ha på rettssikkerhet og vitenskapelig legitimitet. Målet er å redegjøre for hvordan rettspsykiatrisk sakkyndige selv, men også dommere, forstår og vurderer det utførte arbeidet og den makten de rettspsykiatrisk sakkyndige besitter. Dette gjøres ved å sammenligne intervjudata fra de forskjellige profesjonene, men også observasjonsdata og dokumentkilder.
Analysen baserer seg på innsamlet intervju- og observasjonsdata, samt dokumentkilder knyttet til observerte rettssaker. Sentralt i analysearbeidet og drøftingen var fokus på kvalitetssikring og det kliniske skjønn når det kom til det rettspsykiatriske arbeidets legitimitet. Resultatene av analysen viser blant annet at 22. Juli-saken kan ha hatt en nokså formativ effekt på sakkyndig virksomhet, det kliniske skjønnets frihet er stor og den makten de sakkyndige besitter blir i stor grad utfordret og diskutert under rettsprosessen.
Mon, 30 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/87112014-06-30T00:00:00ZFattigdom og frivillig velferd i Norge. En kvalitativ studie av brukere ved Robin Hood Huset i Bergenhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8695
Fattigdom og frivillig velferd i Norge. En kvalitativ studie av brukere ved Robin Hood Huset i Bergen
Farnes, Sunniva Beate Haram
Master thesis
<p>Denne oppgaven handler om mennesker som kan betegnes som fattige i Norge, og som benytter seg av frivillige organisasjoner som et supplement til det NAV kan gi. Jeg har fokusert p&aring; en stiftelse i Bergen som heter Robin Hood Huset, som er et sosialt m&oslash;tested for &oslash;konomiske vanskeligstilte. Der kan man f&aring; gratis kl&aelig;r, mat, bruke internett og telefon, men ogs&aring; f&aring; et sosialt fellesskap. For de som er arbeidsledige, sykemeldte eller uf&oslash;retrygdet, kan det v&aelig;re viktig &aring; ha et sted &aring; g&aring; til om dagene n&aring;r alle andre er p&aring; jobb. Det sosiale felleskapet og det &aring; &laquo;bli sett&raquo; er viktig p&aring; Robin Hood Huset. I denne oppgaven har jeg hatt et fokus p&aring; de norske brukerne p&aring; Robin Hood Huset, selv om en stor del av brukerne er fra utlandet. Dette er fordi jeg synes det har v&aelig;rt interessant &aring; finne ut av hvordan nordmenn, som er f&oslash;dt og oppvokst i et av verdens rikeste land, synes det er &aring; oppholde seg p&aring; Robin Hood Huset, som p&aring; folkemunne kalles &laquo;fattighuset&raquo;.</p>
<p>Jeg har gjort seks intervjuer med brukere, og jeg har utf&oslash;rt deltagende observasjon p&aring; huset. Temaene har v&aelig;rt relasjoner og fellesskap, hvordan det er &aring; ta i mot gaver, og stigmatisering rundt det &aring; v&aelig;re bruker av et s&aring;kalt fattighus. Jeg har observert at det er en tydelig gruppeinndeling p&aring; huset &ndash; det er tre hovedgrupper; Nordmenn, arbeidsinnvandrere og Rom-folk. Jeg har studert samhandling og relasjoner mellom de norske og de utenlandske. For &aring; analysere hvordan disse grupperingene viser seg, har jeg brukt Simmel sine tanker om &laquo;den fremmede&raquo; og Goffman sin teori om &laquo;face-work&raquo; og ikke-verbal kommunikasjon.</p>
<p>I tillegg til &aring; ha studert milj&oslash; og relasjoner p&aring; huset, har jeg v&aelig;rt interessert i &aring; se p&aring; hvordan brukerne synes det er &aring; ta imot gavene som blir gitt p&aring; huset. Jeg har brukt Marcel Mauss sin teori om gaven i et sirkulasjonsperspektiv, og sett dette i forhold til gavene som blir gitt p&aring; Robin Hood Huset. Gaveperspektivet til Mauss handler om tre aspekter: gi, ta imot, og gjengjelde. Siden brukerne p&aring; Robin Hood Huset ikke har mulighet til &aring; gjengjelde samme type gave, blir gjenytelsen annerledes. Gjenytelsen fra brukernes side er takknemlighet, og en underordning av gaven og gener&oslash;siteten.</p>
<p>Jeg har ogs&aring; v&aelig;rt opptatt av begrepet fattigdom, og hvorvidt brukerne p&aring; huset kan defineres som fattige. I henhold til Georg Simmel blir &laquo;den fattige&raquo; definert som fattig n&aring;r vedkommende tar i mot hjelp. Men jeg har v&aelig;rt opptatt av brukernes subjektive mening omkring fattigdom. Dette er et f&oslash;lsomt tema, og jeg har f&aring;tt varierende svar fra informantene om dette temaet. Det er tydelig at det er mye stigmatisering og skam rundt det &aring; ha d&aring;rlig r&aring;d/ 3 bli oppfattet som fattig, og dette blir enda tydeligere da flere av informantene fortalte at de synes det er flaut &aring; v&aelig;re bruker p&aring; Robin Hood Huset. Tanker omkring stigmatisering blir analysert med hjelp av Goffman.</p>
Wed, 11 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/86952014-06-11T00:00:00ZDisease eradication and the challenges of global resource mobilization. An experimental approach to understand the perception of the benefits of polio eradicationhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8693
Disease eradication and the challenges of global resource mobilization. An experimental approach to understand the perception of the benefits of polio eradication
Hustvedt, Inger Bjørgo
Master thesis
<p>The global effort to eradicate polio began in 1988. The target of the effort was to eradicate the
disease by the year 2000, a target which was not attained. The annual number of polio cases
has been reduced from 350,000 in 1988, to 650 in 2011. Research shows that financial
setbacks are the main reason why polio has not yet been eradicated. When donor countries
contribute less than the needed amount to eradicate, they signal that this effort is not in their
interest. Cost-benefit analysis demonstrates that the high short term costs involved in the
eradication effort are outweighed by the long term benefits of not needing to vaccinate the
population. So why has polio not been eradicated? Studies show that even though a country
would benefit from increasing its contribution, it will not do so unless other countries do the
same.</p><p>Using an experimental approach we have investigated how the level of contributions differs
under two conditions: if contributions are made on behalf of one donor country or on behalf
of the whole group of donor countries. We have also tested to see if information emphasizing
the benefits of eradication will increase contributions. The results show a weak difference
between contributions made when playing the role as the policy maker for a country
compared to contributions made when playing the same role for the whole group. Information
did not have an effect on the performance. The experimental group was made up of students
playing the role of policy makers. The make-up of the experimental group may have affected
the results of the experiment. Students may have a better understanding of long term benefits
and base their decisions on different incentives than policy makers, resulting in the weak
difference of treatments. However, there may also be misperceptions of long term benefits
which need different corrections than written information can give.</p>
Mon, 02 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/86932014-06-02T00:00:00ZConfidence in oneself, confidence in others: Design implications for the design of gameful CSCW systemshttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8658
Confidence in oneself, confidence in others: Design implications for the design of gameful CSCW systems
Haukås, Nils Norman
Master thesis
Disentangling the intricacies of digitally supporting collaboration remains a challenge.
It's a challenge which the field of Computer Supported Collaborative Work have been
tackling for decades and where they've argued that collaboration might be supported
without socio-economic or psychological considerations (Schmidt, 2011). In contrast, the
rise of massively multiplayer online role playing games represent collaborative platforms
where their collaborative dynamics are largely driven by players' emotions. Adding to
that we find that the concepts of gamification or the less loaded term gameful design are
increasingly being hailed as the magic bullet for getting people to act in some desired
way (Kumar and Herger, 2013). McGonigal (2011a) however, argue that we need to
think beyond the bells and whistles of points and badges to how gameful design may
enrich interaction by empowering users. This thesis presents qualitative design research
in creating a gameful CSCW system inspired by the free-flowing collaborative play seen
in games like World of Warcraft (Nardi and Harris, 2006). A conceptual framework was
developed and implemented as a high-fidelity prototype called Looking for Group (LFG).
Focus groups were recruited from two Communities of Practice to give feedback on the
LFG prototype. Three hours worth of focus group interviews were transcribed, analyzed
and discussed in order to develop both theoretical implications and design implications
regarding the design of gameful CSCW systems. Ultimately, we argue that confidence
might be an important prerequisite to collaboration, and that gameful design might be
an effective tool for creating an environment in which confidence may thrive.
Sat, 05 Apr 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/86582014-04-05T00:00:00ZPopulist Radical Right Voters in Contemporary Democracies in Western Europe: Operationalizing and Testing the Three-Dimensional Political Space hypotheseshttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8655
Populist Radical Right Voters in Contemporary Democracies in Western Europe: Operationalizing and Testing the Three-Dimensional Political Space hypotheses
Bjånesøy, Lise Lund
Master thesis
This thesis operationalizes and tests a new theoretical framework of how to map populist radical
right voters in the political space. While such research has been dominated by two-dimensional
frameworks, the framework of this thesis is three-dimensional as proposed by Kitschelt in recent
work.
To be able to operationalize the new three-dimensional framework the thesis is based on
thorough review of both the dominant two-dimensional and the newer theories regarding political
dimensions and the populist radical right. The theories were then applied to find the best
suiting variables from the European Social Survey 2012 to represent the values constituting the
three-dimensional political space.
The re-theorized framework has never before been empirically tested. The evidence presented
in this thesis suggest that the voting patterns of the populist radical right voters are different
on these three dimensions. This supports Kitschelt's argument in that we ought to consider the
political space as three-dimensional. By using three dimensions this thesis was able to capture
important variation in how populist radical right voters can be placed in the political space.
This thesis has discovered the presence of an important issue that does not fit into the threedimensional
political framework. The gay rights-issue represents values that are different from
the ones constituting the three dimension. Neither Kitschelt nor I could have expected these
results.
Mon, 02 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/86552014-06-02T00:00:00ZExpectations and realities: Living with a negative in a Norwegian reception centrehttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8638
Expectations and realities: Living with a negative in a Norwegian reception centre
Thowsen, Silje Cathrin Haukeland
Master thesis
Within the context of the imagined Norwegian way of life, this thesis aims to explore the lives and experiences of female asylum seekers with a negative asylum application. I intention is to examine whether living in one of the most equal and wealthy societies in the world makes a difference in their lives. The concept of living with a negative will form the background of my analysis, in regards to how they experience life in relation to their expectations. Within this I shall look into whether living in a Norwegian reception centre creates a space for them influence their lives. Furthermore I shall look into the different arenas in which they hope to find inclusion, such as through shared faith or the church community. I also aspire to examine the importance of hope and social recognition in the everyday lives of these women. My aim is therefore to look into how living with a negative influences their lives and within this, the strategies they choose in order to deal with their situation. Most of all I aim to shed light on the relationship between the expectations the women had before arrival in Norway, and their experiences of living at a Norwegian reception centre.
Thu, 19 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/86382014-06-19T00:00:00Z«Du føler at du sniker litt i kulissene»: Bruk av internett og sosiale medier i ansettelsesprosessen. Et fenomenologisk og dramaturgisk perspektiv.http://hdl.handle.net/1956/8637
«Du føler at du sniker litt i kulissene»: Bruk av internett og sosiale medier i ansettelsesprosessen. Et fenomenologisk og dramaturgisk perspektiv.
Ramsvik, Linn-Christin
Master thesis
Denne studien omhandler ansetteres bruk av internett og sosiale
medier i ansettelsesprosessen. Studiens empiriske grunnlag baserer
seg på seks kvalitative intervjuer med mennesker som har
personalansvar innenfor selskaper i privat sektor, eller mennesker
som ofte har bistått disse ansetterene. Med utgangspunkt i dette
har jeg analysert hvordan ansetter har komt å bruke internett og
sosiale medier for å søke informasjon om kandidater for ansettelse,
hvordan de reflekterer over- og begrunner denne praksisen, samt
hvordan dette arter seg i det sosiale rollespillet som en gang var
forbeholdt jobbintervjuet.
Fra et fenomenologisk perspektiv viser studien hvordan en ny
praksis har kommet inn i arbeidshverdagen til ansetterene gjennom
bruk av et sosialt lager av kunnskap, opparbeidet gjennom
hverdagslivet. Ut ifra deres fortellinger har jeg identifisert fire
hovedbegrunnelser for å bruke slike nettbaserte informasjonssøk: 1)
for å bli bedre kjent med personen, 2) for å forberede seg, 3)
kandidatene forventer det selv, 4) ved at man får innsyn og tilgang
til kandidatens kontaktnettverk. Utover disse, viser studien også at
ansettere foretar en del vurderinger av denne praksisen, hvor
kritiske overveielser bærer preg av usikkerhet. Med en andre,
dramaturgisk tilnærming, viser også studien hvordan ansettere
tolker informasjonen de finner, og hvordan det påvirker
vurderingene og beslutningene som takes i en ansettelsesprosess.
Med ansetter som publikum, er kandidatens rollespill gjennom
situasjonsdefinering og inntrykksstyring en potensielt avgjørende
faktor, da ansetter nå har fått en "sidestage view" inn i det som
tidligere var forbeholdt kandidatens "back stage"-verden. På en
annen side, viser studien at ansikt-til-ansikt-møtet fortsatt er det
mest verdifulle for ansetterenes valg av ny medarbeider.
Min teoretiske tilnærming til feltet baserer seg på sosiologiske
perspektiver på kunnskap (Shutz 1967, Berger & Luckmann 1966),
legitimering (Berger & Luckmann 1966, Boltanski & Thévenot 1999),
og symbolsk interaksjonisme (Goffman 1959, Meyrowitz 1986). Jeg
argumenterer for at ansetterenes praksis baserer seg på en sosial og
pragmatisk hverdagskunnskap, at denne kunnskapen videre skaper
grunnlaget for deres tolkningsreportoir, og videre for hvordan de
som publikum bruker dette for å vurdere de opptredener som de er
vitne til på den virtuelle scenen, og tar sine beslutninger deretter.
En kombinasjon av disse teoretiske perspektivene innenfor de
sosiale definisjonsparadigmene, bidrar til en mer dyptgående
analyse av praksisen og dens potensielle grunnlag for endring av
primissene for å finne "den rette kandidat".
Tue, 29 Jul 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/86372014-07-29T00:00:00ZVerdiuttrykk i den tredje alder; selvstendighet, likhet, ansvarlighet og anerkjennelse i de sosiale fellesskapenehttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8618
Verdiuttrykk i den tredje alder; selvstendighet, likhet, ansvarlighet og anerkjennelse i de sosiale fellesskapene
Birkeland, Marianne
Master thesis
Sammendrag
Dette er en antropologisk studie, basert på mitt feltarbeid i Norge, av alderdom og hvilke verdier de eldre har i det jeg kaller den tredje alder; de «unge eldre». Fokuset i min studie har vært å studere hva mine informanter verdsetter som viktig og hvordan de verdiene de er mest opptatt av kommer til utrykk i sosiale fellesskap. Wikan (1990) sitt utrykk, "compelling concerns" (s.16), kan tolkes som "verdier", og det må bli forstått som hva informantene uttrykker at de er opptatt av. Verdiene blir uttrykt og forstått av meg som grunnleggende mål i informantene sine liv. De eldre har, gjennom et langt liv opplevd endring, dette sammen med klasse, alder og kjønn vil også påvirke hvilke verdier de har og hvordan disse blir oppnådd og uttrykt. Det som er verdifullt for mine informanter er personlig og individuelt, men kan samtidig være uttrykk for noen felles trekk ved de eldre i den tredje alder, som et underliggende premiss for hvordan de opptrer og føler de bør opptre i sosiale fellesskap. Å belyse verdier kan være et utgangspunkt i å studere på hvilken måte mine informanter er unike og ulike, og hvordan verdiene kommer til utrykk og blir oppnådd, sett i komparasjon til Lamb (2000) sitt studie av alderdom i India og grunnleggende verdier studert i norsk kultur, som selvstendighet, likhet, ansvarlighet og anerkjennelse. Jeg viser hvordan fortidsnarrativ brukes av mine informanter som et middel for å oppnå likhet som verdi. Jeg hevder at likhet er en viktig verdi for å oppnå sterkere tilhørighet mellom de eldre, og at fortidsnarrativ brukes av informantene som et verktøy for å skape likhet og fellesskap. Jeg har også vist hvordan de eldre bekjemper ensomhet gjennom selvstendighet og fellesskap og vil hevde at livsendringer påvirket deres opplevelse av selvstendighet og måter å uttrykke selvstendighet på. Ved å søke trygghet, gjennom å være sikker og gjennom å planlegge sin egen alderdom, hevder jeg at de eldre opprettholder en form for selvstendighet og ansvarlighet. Jeg mener at en ung kropp og et ungt utseende vektlegges fordi det gir prestisje og anerkjennelse i sosiale fellesskap blant de eldre. Jeg hevder at pensjonistene kan føle et savn og et tap av nytteverdi når de ikke lenger er i lønnet arbeid. Følelsen av «nytte» gjenskaper informantene gjennom å uttrykke travelhet, og ved at de gjør det de beskriver som nyttige aktiviteter. Jeg påstår også at de eldre sin måte å distingvere mellom nyttige og unyttige aktiviteter på også er et uttrykk for klasse og tilhørighet. De kan derfor også gjennom å distingvere, utrykke klasse, og dermed skape både likhet og tilhørighet, og ulikhet. Disse verdiene kan brukes til å oppdage om det finnes noen kulturelle mønstre som er med på å forme hvordan de eldre handler, hva som er viktig for dem og hvordan de ønsker å fremstå for andre. På den måten blir de grunnleggende verdiene et verktøy i å forstå deres livsverden og kultur.
Gjennom å anvende perspektiver på og analytiske begrep som uttrykkskontroll (Goffman 1992), distingvering (Bourdieu 1995) og generasjon (Eyerman og Turner 1999) ønsker jeg å analysere hvilke grunnleggende verdier de eldre vektlegger i sosiale relasjoner og drøfte på hvilke måte verdiene oppnås og på hvordan disse verdiene er sammenfallende med norske kulturelle verdier (Gullestad 1992; Hylland Eriksen 1993; Lidén, Lien og Vike 2001; Vike 2013).
Fri, 20 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/86182014-06-20T00:00:00ZExploring policies to enhance the diffusion of conservation agriculture in Zambia through understanding dynamic behaviorhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8617
Exploring policies to enhance the diffusion of conservation agriculture in Zambia through understanding dynamic behavior
Dea Fitri, Amelia
Master thesis
The state of food security depends on the ratio of
food supply and demand. In Zambia, the constant
arable land and the effect of climate change
threaten the continuity of food supply in Zambia
while at the same time population growth increases
the food demand. Those conditions force farmers to
find a way to increase yield productivity.
Conservation agriculture has been highly promoted
as a sustainable agricultural practice that can
mitigate the effect of climate change and at the
same time increase yield productivity. Despite all
the advantages, farmers do not consider this
practice as the substitute for conventional
farming practice. A number of studies have
introduced important factors in conservation
agriculture adoption yet those studies do not
capture the dynamics of adoption and diffusion
process. This study aims to analyze the dynamics
of diffusion process based on economic and social
determinants using system dynamics. The
determinants are identified based on documents
analysis and data calibration from previous
adoption studies and reports. The result of this
study indicates that there is one long-term and
one single-moment determinants that govern
adoption process. The policy recommendations to
foster conservation agriculture diffusion in
Zambia are made based on those identifications.
Fri, 04 Jul 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/86172014-07-04T00:00:00ZThe Pastoral rehab: Drug addiction, therapeutic discourses and self-transformationhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8616
The Pastoral rehab: Drug addiction, therapeutic discourses and self-transformation
Marø, Oda Susanna
Master thesis
Abstract
My research project involves ethnographic work focused on the culture and social relationships of drug addicts and their responses to different treatment practices. I conducted six months of fieldwork in San Francisco, California, where I observed institutional practices at an inpatient residential program for drug addicts. Having experience from working at different drug rehabilitation centers in Norway, I have explored if different understandings of the state and of citizenship create different treatment practices and whether this affects the clinical construction of the drug addict and the addict's own responses to therapy.
My emphasis is on the historical formation of new practices for governing drug addiction and drug addicts. Drug addicts, like prisoners, patients and the mentally ill, have to be studied with an awareness of a historical perspective. The use of drugs, tolerated or forbidden, cannot be studied without taking into account the socio-cultural context within which drug use occurs, and this includes a political context made up of complex power relations. These practices can be understood using Foucault's historical work on the emergence of new practices of governmentality in the West, which were new practices for forming subjects, dispositions and behavior with a view to how these could contribute to the social order and its productivity. Systems of power and knowledge have involved the development of a set of technologies to restructure the subjectivity of those marginalized and alienated in modern society, such as drug addicts in rehabilitation programs.
My thesis studies the emergence of new juridico-political forms of regulations that characterize contemporary addict's lives, and explores their relation to the state, doctors and family. I have mainly focused on treatment philosophies and practices in relation to wider social structures, where Foucault's famous inquiry into pastoral powers has been used as a central concept in exploring how subjects are influenced by practices of power and knowledge.
The medicalization of social life has resulted in a growth of therapeutic practices, and I have examined dominant therapeutic discourses in addiction treatment and their central concepts and models of selfhood derive from what has been termed a therapeutic culture" (Illouz 2008; Madsen 2011). The model of the addicted subject", involves a pastoral project that works upon the motives, desires and self-awareness of the addict who is nowadays defined as a client. There are certain constructions of the drug addict that gives rise to discourses and practices that emphasize self-control, self-discipline and self-awareness. There are certain semiotic processes that are involved in this process of turning people into clients, and I have examined culturally and clinically prescribed ways of speaking from the positions of clients as well as staff members. I have focused on the increasing influence of the therapeutic ethos" and how dominant scripts have been institutionalized in addiction treatment programs, and how clients and staff members make sense and use of the therapeutic language and its models of selfhood.
Mon, 04 Aug 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/86162014-08-04T00:00:00ZIslamic Revival in Georgian - Chechen Border Areahttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8608
Islamic Revival in Georgian - Chechen Border Area
Siprashvili, Nino
Master thesis
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union all the former Soviet countries have been going through changes in social and religious life. Muslim states strongly tied their identities to Islam while countries with a majority of Christians started to tie their identities to the Christian religion. Georgia is a country with a majority of Christians and therefore a religious revival of the orthodox Christian religion has taken place. There are several groups of people though (Chechens (Kists), Azerbaijanis, Daghestanians) who represent Muslim minorities in the country. Focus of the thesis will be the processes of religious and social changes the Chechen Muslim minority community in Pankisi valley has undergone after dissolution of the Soviet Union and state building process in Georgia. More precisely, it will address what the religious situation is currently in an area of Georgia settled by Muslim Chechens and the connections and interactions they have with their neighboring ancestor Chechens in Russia. After the collapse of the Soviet Union processes of religious renewal in Chechnya had significant influence on the Kist community in Georgia.
Thu, 31 Jul 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/86082014-07-31T00:00:00ZKartlegging og tilstandsvurdering av vegetasjonstyper på Mølen. Er nåværende forvaltning tilstrekkelig for ivaretagelse av natur og vegetasjon?http://hdl.handle.net/1956/8595
Kartlegging og tilstandsvurdering av vegetasjonstyper på Mølen. Er nåværende forvaltning tilstrekkelig for ivaretagelse av natur og vegetasjon?
Nilsen, Kristian Knoph
Master thesis
The thesis discover a particular nature- and cultural area in the county of Vestfold, Mølen in Larvik municipality. A large part of this area is an old cultural landscape which also has worthy preservations values within cultural history, geology, ornithology and vegetation. Throughout field work the vegetation types of Mølen are mapped, and based on this data a vegetation map is constructed in GIS. In this way the vegetation type, their size and extensiveness are examined. Aerial photos, interview and field surveys are used to discover the vegetation dynamic and change in the human utilization in the time perspective between 1947 and 2012. Based on this data there is exposed that a lot of the vegetation has change from grasslands and low growing shrubs to tall growing shrubs, scattered trees and two separated forests. Mølen among other areas are included in a regulation plan, but the plan doesn't include this processes. Collected data also determine that the regulation plan is insufficient according to the national and international purposes for preserving cultural and natural values. A condition estimation is done on vegetation types that are characteristic for the area or occupy a great extensiveness. To expose a condition in these vegetation types, different estimates tools that's discover the processes which lead to a condition change are used. Used estimate tools are: area, utilization regime, forestation, vegetation reduction caused by mechanical erosion, regional important species, physical intervention, tree strata successional condition, density of tree strata, numbers of tree strata, and regeneration. By combing the results from the condition estimate, it has been clarified that Mølens vegetation types consist in different conditions. Other methods used to collect data under the fieldwork are mapping of vegetation types, GPS used to mark the vegetation and camera used to take photos. Five transect analyses are done transversely over footpaths and five transects are done for analyses of the change of vegetation types all over the field area. To comprehend earlier human activities interviews of local farmers is done. Through adobe illustrator and paint the data from vegetation types transects is presented.
Thu, 15 May 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/85952014-05-15T00:00:00ZEveryday weather: An ethnography of knowledge and environment in a Fijian village.http://hdl.handle.net/1956/8592
Everyday weather: An ethnography of knowledge and environment in a Fijian village.
Haukali, Nora
Master thesis
Abstract
My research focus is on weather in Fiji; more specifically in the village of Malawai, on the island of Gau. Here people lead lives that are closely connected to the cycles in the environment such as tidal water, lunar cycle, precipitation, and sunshine. With a focus on people's everyday life the aim of the thesis is to give a deep and thorough understanding of the villagers' knowledge about weather, and how is it used in their daily lives. What is weather's effect on people's daily lives? How, through every day activities, do they gain and use a special knowledge in responses, and adaptation to different weather phenomena? I found that much of the knowledge was embodied, activated only through engagement with the environment. This creates a unique and interesting knowledge which must be understood to get a grip of the complex vernacular concept draki, which is the Fijian word used to talk about weather.
Fri, 27 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/85922014-06-27T00:00:00ZThe Impacts of governmental policies on the investment decision for renewable energies in the Swiss electricity markethttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8591
The Impacts of governmental policies on the investment decision for renewable energies in the Swiss electricity market
Kubli, Merla
Master thesis
Switzerland faces two major challenges in the electricity sector.
The existing nuclear power plants will be phased out and at the
same time new renewable electricity sources should increase their
share in production. These shifts need to be managed while
ensuring a secure electricity provision. The investment decision for
the specific technologies is a central leverage point in the system.
Currently a feed-in remuneration tariff policy with a fixed tariff is
implemented to support new renewable energy technologies in
their development.
A System Dynamics simulation model is built to improve the
understanding of central developments in the system and the
interplay of different electricity technologies in the electricity
production. The model is used to simulate likely developments of
the Swiss electricity power plant park and test the effectiveness of
feed-in remuneration policies. Results are gained on the long-
term dynamics of capacity building of electricity technologies,
depending on different public policies. This paper makes a
practical contribution to the management of the energy transition
by shedding a more dynamic light on the capacity expansion in
relation to different forms of feed-in tariff policies.
Sun, 29 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/85912014-06-29T00:00:00ZBecoming a returnee Cubarawi. Politics, Personhood and memory in 'Africa's last colony'http://hdl.handle.net/1956/8590
Becoming a returnee Cubarawi. Politics, Personhood and memory in 'Africa's last colony'
Munoz-Mallén, Beatriz
Master thesis
For nearly 40 years, an estimated 165.000 Sahrawi have been living in refugee camps in the Algerian part of the Sahara desert, known as hamada. The refugee camps are under the government of the Polisario Front -the Sahrawi liberation movement- and are completely dependent on humanitarian aid. 30 years ago, Cuba decided to include the Sahrawi in their education aid program for developing countries.
My aim in this thesis is to present and analyze those young Sahrawi studying in Cuba, known as Cubarawi'. My main argument is that long-term residence in Cuba has shaped the personhood, mind and actions of this youth, placing an important weight on Gramsci's concept of ideology'. In order to back my argument, I use different analytical concepts, each referring to and helping analyze various aspects of my ethnographic material, including personhood, cultural identity, memory and politics.
To understand why the Cubarawis keep their Cuban identity alive in the camps, I use Hall's definition of identity as a continuous process of becoming, supported by Ortiz's transculturation' and Turner's perspective of being betwixt and between'. Müller's memories of paradise' helps explaining their time in the island and the fond memories from that period.
The reason they are sent to Cuba is to get a higher university degree. I argue that the students are a mere instrument, as it is upon the Polisario to choose the studies of the Cubarawis according to the nation's needs'. Education also helps them embody the Cuban ideology. Using Bourdieu's habitus' I show how the social practices of Cuba are internalized and embodied by the Sahrawis.
Lastly, I expose how the disconnection between the Polisario and the youth brings along frustration and disenchantment because of what they understand as the Polisario do-nothing policy. Using Honwana's concept of waithood', I present how the youth is channeling that frustration with active and creative alternatives. Scott's weapons of the weak' helps presenting ideas of non-violent resistance, while Dudouet's theories of armed resistance, gives voice to the youth who are ready to take up arms to get a solution for their conflict. At the same time, I show how this idea is gaining strength among the frustrated youth.
Tue, 17 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/85902014-06-17T00:00:00ZChoosing a cellmate in the prisoner's dilemma. An experimental studyhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8584
Choosing a cellmate in the prisoner's dilemma. An experimental study
Strømland, Eirik André
Master thesis
This thesis investigates cooperative behavior in a repeated Prisoner's Dilemma using experimental methods. In the experiment, we allow subjects to form voluntary partnerships by mutual choice, and to communicate through a chat room. Three main research questions were pursued. First, we wanted to show that mutual partner choice could increase cooperation in an environment with a simple matching mechanism. Also, we wanted to study whether there are positive spillover effects between partner choice and communication. Finally, we wanted to replicate a finding than partner choice opportunities induce strategic behavior ( competitive altruism") in humans.
Our study makes several novel contributions to the existing literature. We show that mutual partner choice increases cooperation. We find that through partner choice, the game is transformed from a random process to repeated and stable interactions. The competitive altruism hypothesis is supported. We find no effect of partner choice when chat room communication is allowed. We believe communication and partner choice both fail to increase cooperation in the most selfish subjects. Therefore, there is little room for a further effect of partner choice when communication is possible.
The experiment was computerized using the experimental software z-Tree 3.3.8. Results were analyzed using the statistical software STATA/IC 13.1 and Microsoft Excel 2010. The Meltzer Fund and the Department of Economics financed the project.
Mon, 01 Sep 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/85842014-09-01T00:00:00ZThe road towards 2020: A multiple case study on the implementation of the RES-Directive in Estonia, Latvia and Norway and the factors affecting their performance towards meeting the 2020 renewable energy targets.http://hdl.handle.net/1956/8583
The road towards 2020: A multiple case study on the implementation of the RES-Directive in Estonia, Latvia and Norway and the factors affecting their performance towards meeting the 2020 renewable energy targets.
Gravdal, Terje
Master thesis
The purpose of this study is to examine which factors have affected the performance of Estonia, Latvia and Norway towards reaching their 2020 renewable energy goals they have committed themselves to as a result of the implementation of Directive 2009/28/EC on the promotion of use of energy from renewable sources. Looking at a number of factors from the literature of EU policy implementation in addition to exploring for new factors, I have conducted interviews with expert respondents in the three countries and in Brussels, in addition to employing a qualitative analysis of documents. The analysis suggests that the main driver affecting performance in the three countries have been their national support schemes, although the implementation has also been affected by the capacity and functioning of the national administrations. Furthermore, domestic politics and influential players have been central in the amendment of the support schemes in Estonia and Latvia. This has resulted in uncertainty among investors in the two countries with potential long-term effects. In Norway, no support scheme changes have occurred, although investor uncertainty has also risen here due to fears that application processing delays may lead to loss of revenues if producers fail to participate in the country's green certificate system. The study thereby introduces investor uncertainty and suspicions of corruption and non-transparency as new variables in the policy implementation literature. While the theory framework of Falkner et al, the Worlds of Policy Implementation", does have explanatory power in the case of Latvia and to a somewhat lesser degree in Norway, it fails to explain the performance of the Estonian case. The study recommends certain modifications to the theory framework by adding new variables and encouraging further research where the typologies are tested against both new policy areas and cases.
Mon, 02 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/85832014-06-02T00:00:00ZI am not that interesting. Social media, privacy literacy, and the interplay between knowledge and experiencehttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8582
I am not that interesting. Social media, privacy literacy, and the interplay between knowledge and experience
Rundhovde, Heidi Molvik
Master thesis
Sharing of personal information on the Internet has become increasingly popular. In social media interactions users face a trade-off between the pleasure and usefulness of sharing and the need to protect their privacy. This study employs recent theory in the research area Human-Computer interaction to investigate users' privacy decisions on the social networking service Facebook from a holistic view, including aspects like emotions, dialectics, and social and temporal context. The purpose is to understand user behavior in the area of privacy and the implications of this for interaction design as well as for education of users. The analysis reveals the interplay between user experiences and rational, fact-based privacy knowledge as important for users' privacy choices. A model for privacy literacy is proposed, and application of this model on empirical data uncovers experiences of privacy divergent from the users' actual privacy situation on Facebook. This situation may explain some lack of rationality observed in privacy decisions by previous research. The presentation further identifies weaknesses in privacy literacy in areas of current importance, as well as differences in ideas and mindsets applied in the privacy process by youths and adults respectively. The observations show that users may be vulnerable to privacy risks despite a desire to behave cautiously and responsibly online and the efforts invested to reach this goal. Conclusions are drawn in the form of recommendations for designers, for educators, for users, as well as for further research.
Sat, 01 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/85822013-06-01T00:00:00ZLearning Democracy. An analysis of young people’s engagement and their political socialisation within nongovernmental organisations in Bosnia and Herzegovinahttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8544
Learning Democracy. An analysis of young people’s engagement and their political socialisation within nongovernmental organisations in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Indjic, Lejla Sokolovic
Master thesis
Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/85442008-01-01T00:00:00Z"Between a Rock and a Hard Place". The Contradictory Roles of Organizations involved in Housing Delivery in South African Informal Settlementshttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8524
"Between a Rock and a Hard Place". The Contradictory Roles of Organizations involved in Housing Delivery in South African Informal Settlements
Bohlin, Borgar Emanuelsen
Master thesis
While considerable strides have been made in South Africa in addressing the skewed patterns of access to adequate shelter among its citizens, significant challenges lie ahead. Since the first democratic elections of 1994 the country has seen a mass-delivery of subsidized formal housing. Nevertheless, the geographical separation and unequal access to basic shelter persists, with many South Africans living in informal settlements with limited service provision. Furthermore, housing delivery in these areas has been criticized for being overly focused on product-related outcomes, while neglecting important aspects related to the processes of delivery and the effects of these processes on the communities in which they are implemented. In South Africa, these processes are seemingly marked by persistent tensions related to how they intervene in, and interact with, existing practices in informal settlements. The focus of this study is to gain insight into processes of housing delivery in informal settlements, through an in-depth case study of a project in the settlement of Witsand. The study has drawn on contributions from organizational theory in order to shed light on the persistent tensions by focusing on the experiences of a community-based housing organization which has acted as a mediating body between the community and the private company which is the implementing agent of the project. The thesis has indicated that community-based housing organizations in South Africa find themselves in highly contradictory roles when they mediate between local and extra-local considerations pertaining to the delivery process. By using organizational theories to reflect on the case, it is suggested that the contradictory roles of community-based housing organizations shed light on the persistent tensions in housing delivery in South African informal settlements.
Fri, 14 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/85242013-06-14T00:00:00ZMuSIASEM testing from a SD perspective: Implications for a sustainability assessmenthttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8523
MuSIASEM testing from a SD perspective: Implications for a sustainability assessment
Armendariz Sanchez, Lissette Vanessa
Master thesis
The current work is a theory-oriented research that tries to address a theoretical discussion on sustainability analysis of complex systems by using SD methodology and MuSIASEM in an evaluative exercise. MuSIASEM as one of the latest frameworks developed for a bio-economic analysis is tested using SD methodology in order to assess its applicability for dynamic systems analysis. Three modeling exercise were performed under MuSIASEM theoretical guidance and following SD principles. An appraisal of the compatibility and feedback learning of the combination of both is developed in the light of further energy studies for sustainability, having special focus on the dynamic component of any sustainability assessment.
Mon, 30 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/85232014-06-30T00:00:00ZExploring design principles for self service technologies: The case of a ticket vending machinehttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8522
Exploring design principles for self service technologies: The case of a ticket vending machine
Seim, Marius
Master thesis
The principal goal of this thesis was to research
self service technologies used in
public spaces, and how they can be improved upon.
The main research question
posed for this thesis was: "How well do the
existing design principles support the
ongoing development of self-service systems and
are they su?cient?". There were
also two sub-questions posed to further explore
the topic: "How can novel design
principles be used to improve the usability of
self-service technologies?" and "Which
methods are optimal for researching self-service
technologies?" In order to answer
these questions a range of research methods were
used. These methods included
observations, focus groups, usability testing and
a review of existing literature. For
the purpose of having a clear focus a speci?c
self-service technology was chosen, the
Skyss ticketing system. A prototype version of the
existing system was created and
tested with users, leading to a novel design
principle that was named integration. A
second iteration was also created to demonstrate
the concept of the novel principle.
The conclusion of the research was that a novel
design principle can potentially
enhance SST. However, there is still much room for
improvement in the domain
of self-service technology, and more research into
design principles and methods is
a feasible way of doing so.
Fri, 30 May 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/85222014-05-30T00:00:00Z"Visdom hører steder til" - En studie om landskap og stedliggjøring av islandskhethttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8509
"Visdom hører steder til" - En studie om landskap og stedliggjøring av islandskhet
Lillevold, Karin
Master thesis
The thesis explores national identity in Iceland
and the UNESCO World Heritage Site Thingvellir
National Park. This is the place where the
Icelandic Parliament was established in the year
930 AD. In addition to the unique cultural
position, the landscape of Thingvellir holds
special geological features typical for Iceland.
As such, it remains the birthplace of the nation
both in a national historic and geophysical way.
The subject of my thesis is to show how
icelandicness is expressed through a relation to
the landscape and understandings of the Icelandic
nature.
Thingvellir is a place heavily loaded with
symbolic meaning for Icelanders. It is a
ceremonial place for the national state, and a
sacred space for Icelanders. The landscape at
Thingvellir is in a way a narrative landscape,
because the landscape is embedded with histories
and legends; It is a place where wisdom sits in
places" (Basso 1996: 67). There are no
distinctively constructed memorials at the site.
Therefore I argue, by using Connerton's (2009)
terms, that the landscape is more locus than
memorial; it is the surroundings of the landscape
that is the source of memory of the past, not a
constructed memorial. The nature at Thingvellir is
alive" with an active geology. This suggests in a
way that the landscape has agency. Therefore I
question the dualism of nature and culture, two
aspects which here so explicitly support each
other. The two need to be looked at as a totality
in order not to get a loss of meaning of the
place. I argue that the UNESCO status fails in
doing so by only acknowledging the cultural
historic aspects, and therefore it seems to be a
somewhat inadequate status at the local level.
Thingvellir is also one of the most visited
tourist attractions in Iceland, and considered a
must-see". But the tourists erode the site, and
they can be considered a profane dimension at
their sacred site. Also, the tourists are said to
not knowing what they look at" because they don't
hold the local knowledge of the Icelandic
landscape as the Icelanders do. I show how the
Icelanders still try to keep the power of
definition over their site as a locus".
Thingvellir can be looked upon as a presentation
of icelandicness", and as such the site stands as
a symbol for Icelandic identity.
Fri, 13 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/85092014-06-13T00:00:00ZJordanske kristne beretterhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8508
Jordanske kristne beretter
Sandvik, Erik
Master thesis
Kristne i Midtøsten er en minoritet som blir stadig færre. I Jordan blir det snakket varmt om det gode forholdet mellom kristne og muslimer. Allikevel ser man også her at andelen kristne minker. Den arabiske våren har brakt med en ny bølge av usikkerhet for den lille minoriteten. I min oppgave ønsker jeg å ta for meg hva det vil si å være kristne i Jordan i dag basert på et seks måneders feltarbeid i Amman, Jordan 2013.
Ved hjelp av Fredrik Barth sin teori om kulturell kompleksitet skal jeg ta for meg en rekke forskjellige måter å se på kristne på. Barth argumenterer at for å få et best mulig inntrykk av dynamikkene og prosessene i komplekse samfunn bør man ta for seg forskjellige streams av hva det vil si å tilhøre denne gruppen. Disse streamsene trenger ikke vise til samme svar, men summen av dem vil føre til et mer helhetlig inntrykk av gruppen. De streamsene jeg ønsker å se på når det gjelder kristne i Jordan er:
Kristne som statsborgere
Kristne som etnisk gruppe
Kristne som tradisjonsholdere
Kristnes beretninger om seg selv
Alle disse utgangspunktene skal til sammen gi en forståelse av den kompleksiteten som omringer kristne i Jordan i dag. Hvilke elementer er viktige for de kristne selv, hvordan blir de definert i en statlig kontekst, og hvilke føringer legger den historiske forankringen til grunn. Jeg skal i løpet av oppgaven innom alle disse faktorene for å gi et bilde av hvordan det er å være kristen i Jordan i dag.
Fri, 13 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/85082014-06-13T00:00:00ZSocial exclusion of the Chepangs in the era of post political revolution of Nepal- A case study of Dhading Districthttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8507
Social exclusion of the Chepangs in the era of post political revolution of Nepal- A case study of Dhading District
Khanal, Baikuntha
Master thesis
The main objective of the present work is to
investigate the mechanisms and processes of social
exclusion of the Chepang people, one of the highly
marginalized ethnic groups of Nepal. To do so, I
examined the Chepang's livelihoods, ethnic
identity and their access to natural resources
with deprivation perspective. Even after the post
political revolution era of Nepal, the Chepangs
still experience a precarious livelihood, and
ethnic erosion and they are disentitled over
natural resources. The main finding of the
research is that poverty is an inevitable cause of
their marginalized and excluded situation. I
explored that the government of Nepal
discriminated the Chepangs as uncivilized and
wasteful in terms of profit instead of state
favors for their enhancement. Patron-client
relationship of the Chepangs to dominant groups
and NGOs make them culturally subordinated and
economically vulnerable. Disparities of power and
wealth and unequal exchanges between the Chepangs
and Brahmins benefitted the Brahmins but it made
the Chepangs impoverished. Furthermore, the roles
of the NGOs was like patron as it worked with
predetermined ideas which could not eradicate the
poverty but rather it made the Chepangs dependent
by supplying the goods for short term consumption.
The geographical location of Chepang villages is
also a strong factor of their marginalization due
to the lack of employment opportunities and
infrastructure development. The results indicate
that the Chepangs are socially excluded not due to
their own defects but because of spatial
disparity, institutionalized inequalities and
cultural influence.
Key words: Exclusion, Poverty, State, Livelihood,
Ethnic identity, Natural resources
Thu, 19 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/85072014-06-19T00:00:00ZDispossession and ethnic identity in expanding state space of Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladeshhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8506
Dispossession and ethnic identity in expanding state space of Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh
Hasan, Mohammad Tareq
Master thesis
In the milieu of the global development and state' formation of Bangladesh, the Khyang people of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) are in a situation of economic transition and marginalization. Bangladesh state's persistence to build Bangalee and Bangladeshi nation and its commitment to develop the country socio-economically (formulated and funded by the international development agencies) has led the state's encroachment of the CHT which were beyond direct state control for most of its history. During my ethnographic fieldwork in Rangamati and Bandarban of CHT, I found that with the expansion of the state space there has been a mutation of citizenship for the Khyang, where their rights and access to land and forests are being limited (and sometimes denied) through government actions and policies. Based on my ethnographic information I argue that as the state built infrastructure and as planned migration of Bangalee people took place the livelihood options for the Khyang changed from subsistence to market economy and today the Khyang are involved in diverse non-agricultural occupations. Consequently, class distinctions emerged in the social structure and, the gendered division of labor is altered (as men are taking more responsibility in household tasks and women are doing income-generating activities). Further, I have observed changes in indigenous practices of food consumption and dressing. With the changed economic frontiers forced by governmental seizure of access to land and forest the Khyang were required to change from Jhum (shifting cultivation) to plough cultivation, and became integrated in the market economy. New rights, entitlements and opportunities have opened avenues for establishing social networks with people of other ethnic groups; yet, it has also marginalized the Khyang economically and socially. While some Khyangs benefitted from these processes, the Khyang remains as a minority of the minorities' in CHT as they are denied of minority quotas in jobs and education, which are mostly availed by the larger ethnic groups like the Bangalees and Chakmas. During fieldwork, it became evident that within a shifting socio-political context Khyang identity has diversified. Engagement of the Khyang with diverse social networks has created internal differences regarding the subjective belief in their common descent as a group. I found that the idea of Khyang identity has become fluid, as for many hill populations of Southeast Asia, being subjected to state expansion and people from the valleys. Based on my ethnographic findings I argue that Khyang of different economic, political and educational backgrounds have different thoughts regarding the common history and historical consciousness of Khyang as a group is not reproduced by the younger generations. Thus, the Khyang now act as ethnic amphibians' in the CHT.
Sun, 15 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/85062014-06-15T00:00:00ZCrossing borders: The Case of ethnic Dagestani in Georgiahttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8505
Crossing borders: The Case of ethnic Dagestani in Georgia
Meurmishvili, Giorgi
Master thesis
According to William Zartman Borders run across land but through people. On maps they appear as fine one-dimensional lines, whereas on the ground they have many dimensions. Borders are boundaries in depth, space around a line, place where state meets society" (Zartman 2010:16). It is impossible to understand borders, without peripheral relations between the states and societies they contain. Itself borders are zones in which people create special relationship with other people. In this thesis, I plan to write about the case of a small minority group located on the periphery in Georgia in order to understand how minorities find a place in an ethnically diverse and rapidly changing society. Their responses to changing central policies and border conditions provide an ideal opportunity to see how elements of the population not only respond to, but also actively constitute, the conditions of a border regime and sovereignty.
Georgia is a state with a highly diverse population, and boundary conditions are everywhere in the society. In addition, the country has complex borders with neighboring countries such as Russia, where population groups are distributed across boundaries and have a long history of coping with border conditions. Borderlands are zones of varying widths, in which people have recognizable configurations of relationships to people inside the zone, on both sides of the borderline but within the cultural landscape of the borderlands, and, as people of the border, special relationships with other people and institutions in their respective nation and state'' (Donnan and Wilson 1994:8).
The post-independence period has been one of rapid change, which makes it possible to observe the ways that sovereignty is formed in local contexts, and the role of elements of the population in relations between the state and the population.
In case of the form of comparative analysis of the state border political changes, in this thesis I will show socio-cultural and economic changes of ethnic minority in Georgia. I will show how borders affect the groups living near them.; The Anthropology of borders mainly developed from 1990's. As scholars have sought to grasp the changed configuration of borders brought about by the fall of the iron curtain, the enlargement of the European Union (EU), the (re)emergence of ethni-nationalisms, the securitization of migration, and the proliferation of new technologies and techniques for policing trans-border movements" (Reeves 2014:6-7). According to Donnan (2001) it focuses on three main dimensions of border: cultural, social and territorial. In this thesis I will touch all three dimensions of borders. There are different cultural diversities which makes borders and social separation between ethnic Avars and ethnic Georgians. For example, different religions (on the one hand Muslim society, on the other hand Christian society (see chapter three), language (Avar and Georgian), and history; Fredrik Barth argues that this history has produced a world of separate people, each with their culture and each organized in a society which can legitimately be isolated for description as an island to itself" (Barth 1969:11). In my view, based on my ethnographic data material, cultural diversities such as history and language not only separate ethnic groups and create boundaries, but also make boundaries crossable. During my fieldwork I heard many life histories which underline good historical relationship between ethnic Avars and ethnic Georgians (see chapter four). The kinship tradition in the Caucasus called Konagoba, which I will discuss in chapter four, is an example of such a historical relationship between ethnic Avar and ethnic Georgian; the Konag (friend who is hosting particular person and vice versa ) institute is sacred for Caucasians.
In first chapter, at first I will give an ethnographic overview of Dagestan. Then I will show the history of Avar villages in Georgia before the Soviet Union, during Soviet Union, in 1990's and in contemporary Georgia. Then I will focus on the period of Soviet Union, and how Stalin's policies of forced population transfers affected Avars in Georgia. In 1944 Stalin forced Avars to settle from Georgia in Chechnya; in 1956 Avars returned from Chechnya to Georgia. Finally, in first chapter I will discuss the methodology I was using during my six-month fieldwork among Avars in Georgia, and how I was first entering the field.
My field site is near an international territorial border marked by high mountains, which separates Georgia from Dagestan in the Russian Federation. In chapter two, I will show the changing border politics in three different time periods: 1) during the Soviet Union; 2) during the 1990's; and 3) in contemporary independent nation-state of Georgia.
In chapter three I will focus on socio- cultural changes as a consequence of the opening the border between Georgia and Russia in 2010. Describing Avars' everyday activities and rituals, such as cutting down vineyards, building a new mosque, changing wedding ceremonies. I will discuss a villagers' new concern with being a good Muslim". Also, I will compare my ethnographic data material, which was collected in 2008, 2009 (when the border between Georgia and Russia was closed) in the village Tsodna, with my ethnographic data material which was collected in 2013. This comparison gives me reason to suggest that the concern with being a good Muslim" is connected with an increasing number of religious people (mostly young generation) in the village; which itself is connected with the opening of the state border between Georgia and Russia. In last section of chapter three I will focus on the conflict between villagers of Tsodna and Vake.
In chapter four I will discuss about economic and kin-relationship between ethnic Avars and ethnic Georgian, which shows opposite picture' then the chapter before.
Fri, 01 Aug 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/85052014-08-01T00:00:00ZUnderstanding APPropriation: A study of everyday use of smartphones in two age groupshttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8489
Understanding APPropriation: A study of everyday use of smartphones in two age groups
Øvrebø, Malin Drange
Master thesis
This thesis examines the use of smartphones within two different age groups and makes an attempt to understand how people appropriate smartphones and integrate them into their everyday life. The thesis also tries to illuminate whether the smartphone technology has become part of the user's daily activities. It was conducted a quantitative survey of two user groups between 20- 30 years and 46-56 years, to gain an overview and map their use of smartphones. Then qualitative interviews were performed with a smaller group of users, to dig deeper into how they appropriated the smartphone. The interview questions were expansions of the survey questions. The findings revealed similarities and dissimilarities regarding acquisition of the smartphone, downloading and use of apps, patterns of use, lacks of features, and daily situations and activities where the smartphone became insufficient. Theories have been presented in attempt to understand how technology augments people in their daily life.
Sat, 01 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/84892013-06-01T00:00:00ZHealth advocacy and practice: Exploring the influence of social structures on the health related lifestyles of adults in the Asokwa community in Kumasi, Ghanahttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8445
Health advocacy and practice: Exploring the influence of social structures on the health related lifestyles of adults in the Asokwa community in Kumasi, Ghana
Darko, Akua Nyamekye
Master thesis
ABSTRACT
The increasing prevalence of non-communicable diseases (CNCDs) in Ghana has necessitated a shift in the health recovery paradigm from a curative to a preventive one (Ministry of Health [MOH], 2008). Currently CNCDs are set to overtake communicable disease in terms of morbidity and mortality rates (MOH, 2008) and in 2008 alone, 86,200 persons lost their lives as a result of ailments from this disease in Ghana (WHO, 2012). The Regenerative Health and Nutrition Program (RHNP) was adopted in 2005 and piloted in 2006 by Ghana's MOH with the aim of promoting healthy lifestyles, dietary practices, mother and child care practices that would help eliminate and prevent prospective diseases that impact on the health and general well-being of Ghanaians (Tagoe and Dake, 2011: 2).
In spite of the usefulness of such a health program, the focus on what is described as healthy' or unhealthy' lifestyles assume primacy of individuals agency to prevent or reduce prevalence rates of non-communicable diseases with a limited focus on socio-cultural structures and practices as well as social statuses that shape lifestyle behaviours. This study therefore explores and examines overall predisposing or risk-reducing factors that influence health-related lifestyles of men and women in the Asokwa community in Ghana. The main objective is to find out how gender roles intersect with other social statuses in influencing an individual's health related lifestyles. The specific objectives are to examine the intersecting relationship between gender roles and other social statuses such as level of education, occupation, marital status, age and religion in their influence on awareness and practice of healthy lifestyle messages. In addition, this study examines the influence of the RHNP as a healthy advocacy program on residents in the Asokwa community.
To address these research objectives, the feminist theories of intersectionality and gender (Crenshaw, 1991 in Staunces & Sondergaard, 2001), structuration theory (Giddens, 1976 in Dyck &Kearns, 2006) and the time-space constraint approach (Kwan 1999a) are used. The theory of intersectionality and gender roles helped in explaining how the gendered expectations of behaviour of men and women intersect with other statuses as they influence health behaviour. The time-space constraint approach provided guidelines to the analysis of the time use and mobility in space of informants. In addition, the structuration theory helped explain the relationship that exists between an individual and the structures that form the society within which he or she finds himself.
A sample of 100 informants was surveyed including 16 case studies. From the study it was found that the RHNP through its advocacy program has increased the awareness of healthy living among the people. The receipt and application of messages from these health campaigns was indeed influenced partly by the availability of facilities as well as individual statuses. The study finds that although gender roles and marital status seem to be important, they mutually intersect with other statuses in influencing the diet and physical activity of informants.
Thu, 15 May 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/84452014-05-15T00:00:00ZReel peace. The emerging field of peace filmhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8444
Reel peace. The emerging field of peace film
Vaage, Jenny Sørensen
Master thesis
The thesis aims to shed light on the emerging field of peace film
and the discourses that describe the field. This part of peace
media has steadily increased since the new millennium, but has
been given little academic attention. Rather than analysing the
peace films themselves, how they are received and used in social
settings is the focal point of the research. Peace media institutions
share the view that it is vitally important to bring our discourses
and frames into the light of consciousness. Hence, discourses and
frames are a main subject of analysis in this thesis. The peace film
field is still an emerging field, and therefore there is not a common
understanding of what it entails. This is what the thesis intends to
explore, hopefully providing a contribution to the study of peace
and the media, and in particular new knowledge about the peace
film field.
Keywords in this thesis are: peace, film, discourse, change, power,
dialogue, social, audience, reception, engagement, political, art.; Masteroppgaven tar for seg det fremvoksende fredsfilmfeltet og
diskursene som beskriver dette feltet. Den fokuserer på et område
innen fredsmedia som har vært i stadig vekst siden
millenniumskiftet, men som så langt har blitt viet lite akademisk
oppmerksomhet. Heller enn å analysere fredsfilmene, har fokus i
forskningen vært på hvordan fredsfilmer blir mottatt og brukt i
sosiale sammenhenger. Det hersker enighet blant fredsmedia-
institusjoner om at det er viktig å sette søkelys på de diskursene
og rammene vi ubevisst er en del av. Derfor fokuserer oppgavens
analyse hovedsakelig på diskurser og rammer. Fredsfilmfeltet er
fortsatt i etableringsfasen, så det finnes ingen felles forståelse av
hva det omfatter. Det er dette oppgaven søker å utforske,
forhåpentlig som et bidrag til studiet av fred og medier, og særlig
til ny kunnskap om fredsfilmfeltet.
Nøkkelord i oppgaven er: fred, film, diskurs, forandring, makt,
dialog, sosial, publikum, mottakelse, engasjement, politisk, kunst.
Thu, 15 May 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/84442014-05-15T00:00:00ZUtdanningsvalg, motivasjon og identitetsdannelse - en studie av læreflinke elever ved studiet Teknisk Allmennfag (TAF)http://hdl.handle.net/1956/8441
Utdanningsvalg, motivasjon og identitetsdannelse - en studie av læreflinke elever ved studiet Teknisk Allmennfag (TAF)
Andersen, Eni Karine
Master thesis
Temaet for oppgaven er utdanningsvalg, motivasjon og
identitetsprosesser blant læreflink ungdom på
studieprogrammene TAF-TIP og TAF-Bygg ved Knarvik
Videregående Skole. Oppgaven tar sikte på å diskutere hva
som foregår i det ungdom går igjennom i en valg og
identitetsprosess.
Det fokuseres i utdanningsforskning ofte på de som faller
utenfor systemet og de mindre ressurssterke elevene, og
sjeldent på læreflink ungdom og deres utdanningsprosess.
Dermed har vi lite kunnskap om de som har ressursene til
å velge fra øverste hylle, og hvilke samfunnsmessige
strukturer og relasjoner som fører dem i en retning. Det
diskuteres derfor i denne oppgaven om det tidligere
forskning har fortalt oss om mindre ressurssterke elever,
også stemmer overens med det læreflinke elever
gjennomgår i en valg- og identitetsprosess.
Analysen er delt i to. I det første analysekapittelet
diskuteres elevenes begrunnelser for valg av utdanning og
motivasjonskrefter. Her diskuteres spørsmålene: hvem er
elevene som velger TAF? Fanger TAF opp de elevene de har
som formål å få tak i? Og hvordan er elevenes valg og
motivasjon rettet mot utdanningen begrunnet? Det første
analysekapitlet inneholder begrunnelser for hvorfor elevene
har valgt å gå TAF, og hva deres motivasjonen var både for
å begynne, men også for å fortsette og fullføre. Det vil
også diskuteres hvordan elevene har orientert seg rundt
valget, og om tradisjon eller individualisering står i fokus.
Valg og motivasjon er de klassiske problemstillingene
innenfor utdanningssosiologi, men vil gjennom denne
studien settes i et nytt lys. Dette fordi TAF er et program
som faller utenfor både det generelle allmennfaglige
studieløpet, men også det yrkesfaglige. Det vil derfor for å
gå dypere inn på utdanningsvalg og elevenes
motivasjonsfaktorer rettet mot utdanningen, i studiets
første analysekapittel fokuseres hovedsakelig på
moderniseringsteorier rettet mot et økende utdanningsnivå
og arbeidsorienteringsteorier.
Et tema det ikke har vært like mye fokus på innenfor
utdanningssosiologi er hvordan disse elevene former en
identitet, og hvilken identitet som formes, både individuelt
og kollektivt, da TAF som nevnt er en alternativ
utdanningsvei som fører til nokså åpne dører videre i livet
når det kommer til utdanning og karriere. Dette tas opp i
analysekapittel to. Her diskuteres spørsmålene: hvordan
utvikler elevene en selvforståelse i TAF-løpet? Og hvordan
påvirker relasjoner og TAFs formål elevenes videre
utdanningsløp? Analysen i dette kapittelet ses i lys av
teorier rettet mot relasjoner i elevenes identitetsdannelse,
og hvordan annerkjennelse fra bedriftsansatte og lærere
former elevenes kollektive identitet som "TAF-elev".
Det diskuteres også hva veien videre etter videregående er
for TAF-elevene, hva elevene ønsker å gjøre etter de er
ferdig på TAF, og hva motivasjonen deres er for å gjøre
videre det de planlegger. Dette vil igjen kobles opp mot
hvordan det samsvarer med hva bedriftene ønsker å forme
TAF-elevene mot. Hvordan reflekterer elevene selv over det
de har lært og den de har blitt?
Studien forteller oss at elevene var usikre ved løpets
oppstart, og at i samsvar med tidligere forskning på
yrkesfagelever ønsket et alternativt løp med noe praktisk, i
tillegg til at elevene ønsker studiekompetanse, og er sterkt
motivert mot høyere utdannelse....
Wed, 21 May 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/84412014-05-21T00:00:00ZManaging sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in Liberia: Exploring the syncretisation of Western and traditional approacheshttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8439
Managing sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in Liberia: Exploring the syncretisation of Western and traditional approaches
Reddy, Dashakti
Master thesis
Background: Sexual and gender based violence (SGBV) is endemic to Liberia. Children are particularly impacted. The health of and justice for those impacted by SGBV are the concern of the government of Liberia (GOL), local and international non-governmental organisations (I/NGOs) as well as local community-based traditional leaders and healers. The state, in close partnership with the international community is in the process of rebuilding its formal health and judicial structures after a devastating 14-year civil war. The traditional Liberian Sande (women) and Poro (men) secret societies are also in the process of reviving traditional culture and traditional medical and judicial practices. Traditional culture and healing played an important role during the civil wars and continue to be deeply rooted in society, especially in the interior. Yet, little research has been undertaken in the extent to which these informal mechanisms cater to SGBV and how and if they interact with Western medical and judicial interventions.
Objective: This study aimed to explore the coherence or contention in the relationship between traditional Liberian and Western approaches to treating SGBV, both medically and through jurisdictive methods. Approaches and techniques undertaken by the international community and the traditional Sande society in managing SGBV were explored. Local perceptions of these two structures were sought as well as any endeavours to syncretise the approaches.
Methods: This qualitative study followed a phenomenological approach. The study was conducted in two sites: Monrovia and one interior county emphasising the geographic disparity. There were five groups of participants: I/NGOs running programmes supporting survivors of SGBV, government SGBV focus persons, religious and traditional community leaders, girls aged 14-18 years who have experienced SGBV, and traditional healers. Key actors including I/NGO officers, government officials, the Liberian police and the Head of the Liberian Traditional Sande Women's Society were interviewed about programmes that support SGBV survivors, with a particular focus on children. I/NGO programme implementers, local community groups, local leaders, traditional healers and girl survivors of SGBV were interviewed about the impact of the programmes. In-depth semi-structured 30-60 minute interviews, conducted in English were the primary method for data collection. Where possible, a gender balance of participants was sought. Thematic network analysis was used to explore and interpret data. A WHO Ecological Model and Connell's Theory of Gender and Power were used to help analyse the phenomenon.
Findings: The few attempts at syncretisation have proved unsuccessful. Government and the funding targets of international donors play a significant role in what is being prioritised, namely western-based medical treatment and psychosocial support. Externally funded programmes to support survivors of SGBV are largely concentrated in Monrovia and nearby counties. At the community level traditional cultural beliefs - regardless of religion - prevail, especially in the interior. The effectiveness of solely western-based initiatives is questionable, considering the impact traditional culture bears on society. Another point of contention is the issue of female genital cutting (FGC). There are a number of underlying factors (war, cultural gendered roles, customary...
Wed, 14 May 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/84392014-05-14T00:00:00ZOpplysningens retorikk. Om saklighet i den politiske debatt. En drøfting av hvilke kriterier den politiske debatten bør vurderes etter, med utgangspunkt ihttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8438
Opplysningens retorikk. Om saklighet i den politiske debatt. En drøfting av hvilke kriterier den politiske debatten bør vurderes etter, med utgangspunkt i
Andersen, Ida
Master thesis
Denne analysen tar for seg ulike retoriske praksiser, og vurderer hvilke som er saklige og usaklige i den politiske debatt. Den tar utgangspunkt i Christian Kocks behandling av de «fordummende uskikkene» i det danske ordskiftet, og påstanden: Velgerne skal kunne bruke den politiske debatten som grunnlag til å ta stilling til hva som skal gjøres - før det blir gjort. Gjennom analyse av konkrete retoriske situasjoner fra den norske valgkampen 2013, har jeg funnet både styrker og svakheter ved Kocks bidrag. Jeg har diskutert programledernes rolle i debatten, bruk av fakta, forekomsten av personlige historier, umuliggjøring av kritikk, svarunnvikelse, avbrytelser, retorisk innramming og tendensiøs ordbruk, motivspekulasjoner og avpolitisering, i lys av hva velgerne har bruk for fra debattene. Til tross for at forholdene lå til rette for en saklig opplysende valgkamp, var det ikke vanskelig å finne usakligheter i debattene. Gjennom å øke bevisstheten om de «fordummende uskikkene», kan situasjonen forbedres. Dette bidrar denne oppgaven med.
Thu, 15 May 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/84382014-05-15T00:00:00ZPenger eller legitimitet – spillet om spilleautomatene.http://hdl.handle.net/1956/8435
Penger eller legitimitet – spillet om spilleautomatene.
Rambøl, Odd E.
Master thesis
Sun, 01 Jan 2006 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/84352006-01-01T00:00:00ZUnderstanding maternal mortality ratio reduction bottlenecks in Uganda. A system dynamics approach for policy developmenthttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8432
Understanding maternal mortality ratio reduction bottlenecks in Uganda. A system dynamics approach for policy development
Nuwagira, Cranmer
Master thesis
Understanding Maternal Mortality ratio reduction
bottlenecks in Uganda: A System Dynamics Approach
for Policy Development.
Nuwagira Cranmer
Abstract.
Despite all efforts initiated
by government and its partners , maternal deaths
has remained obstinate in Uganda. Even though the
incidence shows adown ward trend in the last two
decades since 1990 , women still finds it very
risky to conceive and deliver a baby. Various
approaches have been employed to thoroughly
comprehend the root cause of this problematic
dynamic pattern but still with registered and
acknowledged deficiencies. The system dynamics
approach has been used in this study with an
ultimate aim of understanding this public health
problem for policy development. An explanatory
model and policy model explaining the
relationships between variables and feedback loops
involved in maternal health care system have been
developed. The model developed provides a policy
tool that can be used by policy makers and health
managers in Uganda for improved decision-making.
The model replicates reasonably the problematic
dynamic behavior and recommends recruitment of
Midwives and control of fertility as a crux for
maternal mortality ratio reduction. However the
study recognizes that this problem would be dealt
with comprehensively if a synergy of different
strategies are employed because causes that brings
about this problem are many layered.
Keywords: Maternal mortality ratio, model,
maternal deaths, simulation, policy, Uganda.
Mon, 02 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/84322014-06-02T00:00:00ZBiofuel and food security: insights from a system dynamics model. The case of Ghanahttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8431
Biofuel and food security: insights from a system dynamics model. The case of Ghana
Ansah, Isaac
Master thesis
Abstract
Empirical evidence from research points to biofuel as a possible substitute to conventional fossil fuel-gasoline and diesel. Some countries USA and many in Europe are working towards mandates and legislations that impose on the market a share of biofuel in the national energy mix in the medium to long term. In response to policy preferences and attractive incentives, global biofuel production tripled between year 2000 and 2007 and again was projected to double by 2011 (Molony & Smith, 2010).
Unlike other developed countries, countries in Africa have remained relatively less engaged in the biofuel revolution thus far, but the continent is increasingly viewed as the global powerhouse for biofuel feedstock production (Wetland International, 2008) due to its supposed abundant land resources, cheap labor and preferential access to protected markets. Records on land acquired for biofuel production in Africa is difficult to obtain or are not available. However, recent reports have revealed the scale of biofuel rush in the sub-region where foreign and local firms have acquired large tracts of agricultural land for biofuel production. African governments are increasingly paying attention to the opportunities of biofuel production to stimulate economic development, increase international trade, encourage foreign investment, increase rural development and reduce energy dependency Tanzania, for instance spends US$1.3-I.6 billion per year, about 25 percent of total foreign earnings on oil imports (Sulle & Nelson, 2009).
This research aims to develop a dynamic simulations model that incorporate available data, evidence and expert's opinion on how biofuel and food production interacts, to project the impact of large-scale cultivation of biofuel feedstock on food security in Ghana. It is hoped that the model could be used as a boundary object to engage policy-makers in developing countries to better understand-quantitatively and qualitatively-the interactions, linkages and feedback relationships among biofuel production, food security and land use. In addition, the model could be used to test the likely impacts of proposed biofuel policies and alternative policies on food security.
The key finding from the simplified model of biofuel and food production interaction is that, as biofuel production takes off, some land will be used for the production of biofuel albeit as a small fraction of potential agricultural land remaining. But biofuel production is likely to increase income to local farmers or investors who are directly engaged in biofuel production and may revive rural economies of out grower farmers; however, it is expected to contribute to food price increase the effect chiefly taking hold among the poor, but higher food prices will also cause investment in food production to rise, contributing to eventual high food production. This key finding has policy implications; which suggest that if policy makers place more emphasis on biofuel production without actively supporting food production, could lead to food security issues if gains from biofuel production are not effectively used to reduce cost of food production as food price rise.
Mon, 02 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/84312014-06-02T00:00:00ZDoes Stock and Flow diagrams lead to a better management of credit card ? The case of exponential growth bias. An experimental studyhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8426
Does Stock and Flow diagrams lead to a better management of credit card ? The case of exponential growth bias. An experimental study
Rabie Ahmed, Sherif Ahmed
Master thesis
Abstract
Exponential growth bias is the tendency to
linearize exponential functions. It means that
people underestimate the future value of a growing
debt in case of borrowing and future value of a
growing investment in case of saving .The bias
matters empirically by making consumers have a
great tendency to ignore the returns generated by
compounding .Consequently, consumers who are
biased tend to borrow more and save less. This
study aims to provide a toolkit to debias the
tendency to underestimate exponential growth
variables and helping people to make better
financial decision.
We investigated the effect of using stock and flow
diagram as external visualization tool for
financial problems on perceiving variables that
grow exponentially.
In the experiment, we gave three credit card
problems for two groups each consisting of seven
participants. A treatment group which was provided
with a stock and flow diagram explaining those
problems in addition to compounding formulas. A
control group which was provided with only the
compounding formulas. Through a bi dimensional
statistical analysis, we tried to assess the bias
in term of the magnitude and the direction .We
found that both groups underestimate the required
time to pay-off a debt. Meanwhile the experimental
group overestimated the payment amount in order to
pay-off the card debt in three years and
overestimated the remaining balance on the card
after twenty years of paying a certain amount of
monthly payment.
The qualitative analysis of participants methods
for obtaining the answers showed that participants
in both groups anchor to the required time to pay
off the principle of the debt when they try to
calculate the required time to pay-off the
interest .Stock and flow diagram was useful in
obtaining a better mental model by taking into
account the accumulation of the interest every
year. However, participants in both groups found
difficulties when they tried to
iii
calculate a declining stock problem .That made the
experimental group overestimate the required
monthly payment to pay-off the debt. Furthermore,
experimental group was better in considering the
consequences of the reinforcing loop between the
debt and the interest in the long-term while most
of control group participants underestimated the
remaining balance of debt .Further research and
limitations have been discussed.
Keywords: System dynamics, system thinking,
Exponential growth bias, Stock and flow diagrams,
credit card usage, Credit card
Mon, 02 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/84262014-06-02T00:00:00ZFagopplæring i bedrift: sentrale mål og lokal virkelighet. Evaluering av Reform -94.http://hdl.handle.net/1956/8417
Fagopplæring i bedrift: sentrale mål og lokal virkelighet. Evaluering av Reform -94.
Olsen, Ole Johnny
Research report
Thu, 01 Jan 1998 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/84171998-01-01T00:00:00ZSupervised injectable heroin treatment and fatal overdose: a system dynamics model to assess the impact of supervised injectable heroin treatment on fatal overdoses in Bergen, Norwayhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8408
Supervised injectable heroin treatment and fatal overdose: a system dynamics model to assess the impact of supervised injectable heroin treatment on fatal overdoses in Bergen, Norway
Anastasiadou, Eftychia
Master thesis
The city of Bergen, Norway, is troubled by a large number of deaths caused by opioid related overdoses. The number of deaths is also an indication of drug addict suffering, close family worries, drug trade and other criminal activities, costs of policing and health care etc. While all of these are important problems, focus in this thesis is on the number of deaths and on the effects of a policy called Supervised Injectable Heroin (SIH) treatment.A system dynamics model is built in order to explain the high mortality rate among heroin users in Bergen and to test the impact of SIH treatment. The model explains the flow of drug users from recruitment, through imprisonment and opioid substitution treatment (OST), to quitting or death. In particular the model is explicit about which periods the drug users are most susceptible to overdose deaths, when leaving prison and when leaving OST. The data comes from existing literature and interviews with drug users. The model behavior is analyzed with and without the policy impact, in order to understand how such a policy could contribute to a lower death rate among opioid users.
Tue, 10 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/84082014-06-10T00:00:00ZExploring the decline in fertility rates with system dynamics: The case of Thailandhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8407
Exploring the decline in fertility rates with system dynamics: The case of Thailand
Hatlem, Sirinna
Master thesis
Since 1950, the changes in fertility behavior in
the Thai population have proved to be very
interesting. Between the years of 1950 to 1957,
the government invoked a pro-natalist policy and
created the Married organization where the
fertility rate has increased in that period. In
1960, the government concerned about the
increasing in fertility rate, which led to the
introduction to the National Family Planning
Program, under the Ministry of Public Health,
which promoted the voluntary use of contraception.
Since then the fertility pattern has entered
controlled fertility". To date, fertility
continues to decline and is currently below
replacement level.
The changes in fertility rates, and the shifts in
government policy, require research into the
causes of the factors influencing the total
fertility rate (TFR). In this study, a Thai TFR
model is constructed by using system dynamics
modelling concept", to investigate TFR behavior,
including the effects of government policy. This
system dynamics model has been examined and
analyzed, which leads to the conclusion that the
increase in fertility rates in 1950s were caused
by the government pro-natalist policy. On the
other hand, the later decline in fertility was
influenced by the intensity of the support for the
government's anti-natalist policy (National
Economic and Social Development Plan [NESDP],
1970).
Finally, this research provides the policy
recommendation, which aims to support child
bearing cost. This policy leads couple to perceive
the decline in cost, they will then prefer more
children. However, the government should also
focus on the promotion of population quality,
ensure that all births are desirable and safe,
mothers and babies are provided with quality
services.
Sat, 31 May 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/84072014-05-31T00:00:00ZAchieving justice by starvation: a quantitative analysis of hunger strike outcomeshttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8387
Achieving justice by starvation: a quantitative analysis of hunger strike outcomes
Hagesæter, Magne
Master thesis
This thesis analysis hunger strikes as a specific protest tactic and aims to contribute to the understanding of where, when and how hunger strikes are most likely to reach their intended goals. By using a dataset consisting of media-reported hunger strikes, it demonstrated that a combination of hunger strike-specific- and political context factors can to some extent determine the likelihoods of what is identified as four distinct hunger strike outcomes (concession, surrender, death and forced end). Various hypothesis on hunger strike outcomes have been tested against the dataset by applying the statistical method multinomial logit. Findings show that coalition governments are more willing to grant concessions to hunger strikers and that states are able to learn from previous hunger strikes in order to avoid deaths. The findings also shows that hunger strikes have slightly better chances of gaining concessions in non-democracies.
Mon, 02 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/83872014-06-02T00:00:00ZPerformance as design - Techniques for making websites more responsivehttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8386
Performance as design - Techniques for making websites more responsive
Mjelde, Eivind Hanssen
Master thesis
Websites today have to cater to a fragmented device ecosystem. Previous web design
trends utilizing fixed-width layouts, aimed at desktop computer browsing, have been
replaced by new approaches embracing fluidity, accessibility and context-awareness. Responsive
web design is one such approach, merging desktop and mobile layouts into a
single codebase. With this merger one feature is often overlooked, namely performance.
In this thesis I have aimed to identify inherent performance challenges within the responsive
web design paradigm. I have looked at how existing performance optimization
techniques can be utilized to alleviate these challenges by comparing their effects under
both mobile and desktop browsing contexts.
The methods used included collection and discussion of the advantages and disadvantages
of existing performance optimization techniques, as well as exploratory research through
experiments. The aim of experimentation was to observe how different techniques work
in a controlled setting in order to identify how performance was improved, and at which
cost.
The findings show that several existing techniques can be applied to improve web performance,
some especially targeting responsive design and mobile use cases. However,
the problem with many of these techniques is that they are workarounds for deficiencies
inherent in current web protocols, markup technologies and browsers. While these
workarounds can be proven to enhance web performance in certain use cases, most
also possess inherent disadvantages. This emphasizes the demand for new technologies.
HTTP 2.0 as well as emerging responsive image technologies are predicted as potential
solutions to some of these deficiencies.
Thu, 05 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/83862014-06-05T00:00:00ZFrom state capture to business capture: A qualitative analysis of institutional development in post-Soviet Russiahttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8382
From state capture to business capture: A qualitative analysis of institutional development in post-Soviet Russia
Sollid, Maja Finnes
Master thesis
This thesis investigates Russian institutional development since the
breakdown of the Soviet Union. The aim of the study is to explore
whether the role of formal institutions has increased at the expense
of informal institutions during Putin's presidency, as a result of his
recentralizing reforms. In addition to examining Russian
institutional development, I consider the effect of institutional
change on trade relations. In order to illuminate this issue I explore
the fisheries industry in particular, looking at trade relations
between Norway and Russia. The thesis utilizes institutional theory
and comparative historical analysis as tools to map the mechanisms
and processes connected to institutional change and their effect on
trade relations. Qualitative interviews with actors connected to
fishery trade in Norway and Russia have been conducted to
supplement documentary, and to a certain degree observational
data. The main findings of this thesis are the stickiness of
institutions and the importance of institutional legacies in
institutional development and change. In addition to this, I have
found that the interrelationship between formal and informal
institutions is not a zero-sum game, and even though an increase in
the significance of formal institutions has occurred, informal
institutions remain strong within the Russian institutional
framework.
Thu, 29 May 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/83822014-05-29T00:00:00ZUK Independence Party - Ny politisk kraft i et definert politisk tomrom. Et casestudium av partiets fremvekst i britisk politikkhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8381
UK Independence Party - Ny politisk kraft i et definert politisk tomrom. Et casestudium av partiets fremvekst i britisk politikk
Norvalls, Vidar Bergstøl
Master thesis
Ved årets Europaparlamentsvalg sjokkerte UK Independence Party mange ved å bli Storbritannias største parti. Til tross for den siste tidens fremganger er partiet fortsatt lite kjent. Denne oppgaven søker derfor å belyse tre elementer ved partiet.
Først undersøkes det hvorvidt det er riktig å klassifisere partiet som et nisjeparti. Deretter søker oppgaven å svare på om partiet hører hjemme i familien av høyrepopulistiske partier. Til slutt følger en utgreiing rundt partiets organisatoriske struktur.
Wed, 04 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/83812014-06-04T00:00:00ZSosiologer i arbeid. En statusrapporthttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8375
Sosiologer i arbeid. En statusrapport
Gravermoen, Hanne Widnes
Research report
Wed, 01 Jan 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/83752014-01-01T00:00:00ZGhana's mental health act 2012- A study of the actors and strategies in setting the public policy agenda.http://hdl.handle.net/1956/8350
Ghana's mental health act 2012- A study of the actors and strategies in setting the public policy agenda.
Okrah, Karen Afriyie
Master thesis
The mental health bill was drafted in 2004 but was
eventually passed in 2012 after some pressure was
put on government to pass the law in order to
improve access to mental health care. This study
attempted to investigate the actors who
spearheaded the passage of the law and to analyse
the strategies used by the actors to set the
agenda and get the act passed.
The study sought to find out how domestic actors
in policy making were able to get the issue of the
poor state of mental health care in Ghana to the
table of government. This is because the mental
health sector had been neglected by government who
for several years had provided woefully inadequate
budgetary allocation to the sector. Also due to
negative public perception of mental illness,
public support for issue on mental health was
below expectation compared to other health
matters.
The study used Kingdon's agenda setting model-
Multiple streams framework to understand and
explain the agenda setting of the mental health
act.
Findings from the research showed that all the
actors played important roles in putting the issue
of the poor state of mental health care and
treatment on the agenda of government and
eventually ensured that the mental health law
2012, Act 846 was passed. The study showed the
significant role played by domestic actors
especially NGOs who used their resources and took
advantage of policy windows to push their
proposals. Also, the study showed the interplay of
politics in agenda setting.
Mon, 26 May 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/83502014-05-26T00:00:00ZBusiness process modeling practices among Norwegian organizationshttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8347
Business process modeling practices among Norwegian organizations
Jahan Zeb, Muhammad
Master thesis
Abstract
This research presents a study to increase the
understanding of how businesses in Norway are
working with their processes and to what extent
Business Process Management (BPM) is adopted by
Norway based companies. For this an existing
Process Modeling Practice (PMP) Model is revised
and used in a survey of eighteen Norwegian model-
based process-change projects. We used the
approach to develop an interview guide including
questionnaire to explore the current trends in
process modeling in Norway. There is a positive
relationship between project outcome and process
modeling dimensions like: outsourcing/consulting
and team work. There is no positive relationship
between career opportunities and project outcome.
Practical and theoretical implications of this
study are also discussed. Significant paths for
future work include improving instrument validity
and detailing the PMP model by including other
dimensions of process modeling.
Key words: Business process management (BPM),
Enterprise modeling, Process modeling, Process
Modeling Practice (PMP) Model.
Sun, 01 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/83472014-06-01T00:00:00ZFelles makt - felles ideologi? En sammenlikning av lovgivning i Stortinget og rettsutvikling i Høyesteretthttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8346
Felles makt - felles ideologi? En sammenlikning av lovgivning i Stortinget og rettsutvikling i Høyesterett
Kisen, Ragnhild
Master thesis
The aim of this paper is to examine the relationship between the parliament and the Supreme Court in Norway. First, by studying the relationship between these two institutions on an institutional level, and secondly, try to explore if there is any reflection between the political party preferences when they implement a new law and the juridical votes when the judges apply the law in practice.
The research question is interesting because it is determined in the Constitution of Norway, that one of the most important fundamental factors of the democracy of Norway is the balance of power. This balance of power should be divided into three different branches: The Parliament, the Government and the Supreme Court. There have been many changes in the society in Norway as well as on the international arena since the constitution of Norway was written 200 years ago. These changes have made the Supreme Court in Norway more influential, and a more realistic way to see how the power of balance in Norway really works, is to see the Government and the Supreme Court as one branch, where they share one power. Especially when the judges are present in the plenary (plenumssaker), and they are practicing prøvingsretten" the Supreme Court are acting like a political institution. I make a case study of this relationship to understand the mechanisms of how the relationship between the Government and the Supreme Court works.
By reading every plenumssak" between 1976-2013, in all 62 cases and amount of reports of the political discussion when the law used in the plenumssak" was implemented in the Parliament, I found a basis for a comparison between the political discussion and the voting of the judges. The analysis confirms that the Parliament and Supreme Court have a mutual dependency in their relationship. They are not only sharing one of the power branches, they are also sharing the same ideology. A majority of the judges that I could find an ideological tendency of their voting records are voting social democratic. In my analysis I also compared my results with the results that Grendstad et. al(2011c) got in their study of the ideological point of view the judges in the Supreme Court to confirm or deny my results.
Sun, 01 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/83462014-06-01T00:00:00ZAfrika (Sør for Sahara)- verdens sorte får? En empirisk analyse av kredittrangeringerhttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8345
Afrika (Sør for Sahara)- verdens sorte får? En empirisk analyse av kredittrangeringer
Folly, Victoria Anastasia Ama
Master thesis
Formålet med denne masteroppgaven er å analysere
hvilke faktorer som påvirker kredittrangeringer og
hvordan rangeringene er for Afrika (Sør for
Sahara) i forhold til andre regioner. Ifølge
Haque, Mark og Mathieson (2000) var Afrika (Sør
for Sahara) regionen med lavest kredittrangeringer
i perioden 1980 til 1993. Oppgaven undersøker om
dette fortsatt er tilfelle i perioden 1990 til
2010 og videre hvilke faktorer som kan ligge til
grunn for denne ulikheten. For å finne ut av dette
forsøker jeg først å identifisere korrelasjonen
mellom økonomiske, politiske og institusjonelle
faktorer. Deretter undersøkes det om Afrika (Sør
for Sahara) skiller seg negativt ut i forhold til
andre regioner.
Utgangspunkt til flere av forklaringsvariablene er
hentet fra Cantor og Packer (1996) og Haque et al.
(2000). Datamaterialet er samlet inn fra
Verdensbanken, Institutional Investor, Det
internasjonale pengefondet (IMF), Federal Reserve,
Freedom House Index og Quality of Government
Institute. Analysen er gjort ved hjelp av en fast
effekt modell, der estimeringen er ved MKM og
«Least squares dummy variable» (LSDV). Resultatene
viser at det er noen få økonomiske variabler som
bestemmer nesten 90 prosent av
kredittrangeringene. Videre har Afrika (Sør for
Sahara) fått lavere rangeringer enn andre regioner
i perioden 1990 til 2010. Resultatene indikerer
også at vektingen av de ulike variablene endres
mellom land og over tid.
Beregningene er gjort ved hjelp av Stata 13.1 og
Excel 2010.
Mon, 02 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/83452014-06-02T00:00:00ZI krig og kjærlighet. En analyse av representasjonen av mannlige og kvinnelige topppolitikere på norske avisforsider i perioden rundt Stortingsvalget 2013http://hdl.handle.net/1956/8343
I krig og kjærlighet. En analyse av representasjonen av mannlige og kvinnelige topppolitikere på norske avisforsider i perioden rundt Stortingsvalget 2013
Frækhaug, Ingelin Moltu
Master thesis
Thu, 15 May 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/83432014-05-15T00:00:00ZSneak teaching bridge. From learning domain to game mechanicshttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8342
Sneak teaching bridge. From learning domain to game mechanics
Barendregt, Rosaline Danielle Erica
Master thesis
This thesis describes the study Sneak Teaching Bridge, which
addresses the curiosity for games that have the intention to teach
without the player noticing. These type of games were named Sneak
Teaching Games and formed the subject of the main research
question how can a digital learning application be shaped as a
Sneak Teaching Game?'
In order to answer this question, a literature survey on Learning
Games was carried out, of which the findings were used to design a
prototype of the mobile Sneak Teaching Game Britz!
The literature survey revealed that one of the most difficult things
for Learning Game designers is to find a balance between the
learning domain and the game world: a Learning Game should be
educational, but at the same time fun to play. This was pointed out
as the area in which Sneak Teaching Games should try to go one
step further, by creating a Sneak Teaching dimension.
During the design of Britz!, it was discovered that this Sneak
Teaching dimension can be created by realising a tight bond
between the game mechanics and the educational content. The
results from heuristic test and user tests showed that this can be
done by smart modelling of the learning domain and embodying
learning elements by game elements.
The design process of the prototype of Britz! can be seen as an ex-
ample of how a learning domain can be shaped as a Sneak Teaching
Game.
Sun, 01 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/83422014-06-01T00:00:00ZBateye Guarero: Identity-management, resources and agency in an inactive Dominican sugar bateyehttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8328
Bateye Guarero: Identity-management, resources and agency in an inactive Dominican sugar bateye
Olsaker, Kjersti Gurine
Master thesis
This thesis is about a sugarcane bateye situated
in the inland province of Monte Plata in the
Dominican Republic: Bateye Guarero. A bateye is an
agricultural community in the midst of the
sugarcane fields, created by the sugarcane
companies to house the agricultural workers. The
Dominican state sugarcane company went bankrupt
towards the end of the 1990ies and left Bateye
Guarero and other bateye communities without
income, social services or aid. Most of the
sugarcane workers were Haitian nationals and their
children born in the Dominican Republic. Anti-
Haitian sentiments have strong precedence in the
country, and were in the past century
institutionalized as a State discourse called
antihaitianismo. This thesis explores the
identity-management of the inhabitants of Bateye
Guarero as they attempt to negotiate with national
forces over social identification and resources.
With the analytical basis of Jenkins' concept of
Power of efficacy (2009) this thesis analyses the
connection between mobilization and maintenance of
resources and identity-management. The main
argument in this thesis is that identity-
management in Bateye Guarero is shaped by how
resources can be mobilized in the pursuit of
perceived upward social mobility. It is argued
that the likelihood of surpassing the social
stigma connected to Haitian identification grows
the more resources that can be mobilized for
practices that Dominicanize". Simultaneously, it
is argued that poorer access to resources finds
its expression in alternative identity-management
that does not center on Dominicanizing"
practices, but emphasize other social
identifications. The thesis also reflects on
possible changes to identity-management in Bateye
Guarero due to a Constitutional ruling of
September 2013 declaring that children born to
parents in transit" are not eligible for
Dominican citizenship, which includes the children
of Haitian sugarcane-cutters.
Sun, 25 May 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/83282014-05-25T00:00:00Z"Fleire Fusingar?" En studie av til- og fraflyttingspolitikken i Fusa kommunehttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/8327
"Fleire Fusingar?" En studie av til- og fraflyttingspolitikken i Fusa kommune
Birkeland, Kristine
Master thesis
Stadig flere distriktskommuner, utkantregioner og lokalsamfunn har siden årtusenskiftet engasjert seg i arbeid med økt tilflytting som mål. Dette er en studie av offentlig politikk på lokalt nivå med fokus på å bidra med økt kunnskap omkring forhold som kan ha innvirkning på organisering av dette arbeidet. Studien baserer seg på 16 personlige intervju, bestående av innbyggere (tilflyttere, fraflyttere, tilbakeflyttere), politiske og administrative aktører, i tillegg til aktører fra det lokale organisasjonsliv. Et utgangspunkt for studien var en observasjon i Fusa kommune. På tross av et ønske om økt satsing på tiltak for tilflytting og minket fraflytting, var det; (1) i liten grad utviklet en helhetlig og samorganisert politikk, (2) og at de spredte tiltak søkt iverksatt, generelt ikke hadde klart å påvirke andre politikkområder, men heller måtte kunne sies å ha blitt premissmottaker for annen sektorpolitikk. Gjennom en teoretisk tilnærming som vektlegger en dynamikk mellom organisering og identitet, har jeg forsøkt å belyse dette paradoks. Studien viser at identitet kan ha innvirkning på hva slags organisering som anses som naturlig og ønskelig i lokalsamfunnet, og samtidig at organisering kan ha innvirkning på om Fusaidentitet eller bygdeidentitet slår sterkest inn i de lokale prosesser. Videre har jeg erfart at til- og fraflyttingsområdet, i mangel på tilstrekkelige ressurser (talspersoner, økonomi, lovverk) er preget av å være premissmottaker fra andre områder innen politikken. Politikkområdets status som premissmottaker må forstås ut over en noe utydelig forankring i kommuneorganisasjonen, men også ut fra svak forankring i lokalsamfunnet. På grunn av dette muliggjøres det at lokale prosesser forenkler prioritering av andre politikkområder/tiltak, og hindrer prioritering av dette.
Mon, 02 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/83272014-06-02T00:00:00ZBeredskapshjem - fra barnets ståsted. "En reise mellom stat, marked og familieomsorg"http://hdl.handle.net/1956/8324
Beredskapshjem - fra barnets ståsted. "En reise mellom stat, marked og familieomsorg"
Lidal, Jeanette
Master thesis
Denne oppgavens hovedformål er å utforske og
diskutere hvordan unge voksne opplevde å tilbringe
en periode av barndommen sin i et midlertidig
hjem. I Norge har vi en utstrakt bruk av
Beredskapshjem, og man ser at tallet på barn som
havner i beredskapshjem er økende. Det eksisterer
i dag svært lite forskning utelukkende på denne
ordningen, så denne oppgaven vil være med å bidra
til økt kunnskap om hvordan barna opplevde å bære
en del av en familie i en kort periode. Oppgavens
overordna målsetting er å utforske inkluderings-
og ekskluderingsmekanismer i beredskapshjem.
Barneperspektivet er nesten fraværende i
forskningen på barnevern, og skal man snakke med
barn er det også mange forbehold og ta, jeg valgte
derfor å snakke med syv unge voksne som selv har
opplevd å bli plassert i beredskapshjem. Fra deres
ståsted får man et mer sammensatt bilde av hvordan
barnevernet, beredskapshjemmet og biologisk
familie inntar ulike posisjoner i livene deres.
Teoretisk befinner oppgaven seg mellom økonomisk-,
feministisk forskning, omsorgsteorier og Giddens
syntesetenkning, denne oppgaven ønsker og bygge
bro mellom de ulike forskningstradisjonene, for å
skape et nyansert bilde av tiden barn bruker i
beredskapshjem. Først gjennom å forstå penger,
statlige reguleringer som arbeidskontrakt, lærere
og skolens ansvar parallelt med mikro prosesser
som normer, roller og regler i den nye familien
får vi kunnskap om hvordan denne familien fungerer
som familie.
Analysen er tredelt og vil diskutere 1)
barnevernet og skolen som institusjoner i barnas
hverdagsliv. Her kommer det frem hvilke bilder
informantene har av disse systemene og hvordan de
ønsker at det skal fungere, og hvordan det faktisk
fungerer. Tilliten til systemet og funksjonene
systemet skal inne ha er svært ambivalent.
Informantene anerkjenner at systemet bør
eksistere, men måten det har tatt del i deres liv
ikke har vært ideelt. 2) Her diskuterer jeg
beredskapsfamilien og familielivet som vokser frem
i dette fenomenet. Jeg diskuterer også hvordan man
får nye rutiner, hvordan man får nye signifikante
andre som beredskapssøsken og hvordan vi forstår
hjemmet som både en arbeidsplass og en intimsfære
på en og samme tid. 3) Den biologiske familien er
en konstant faktor, og i dette kapitelet får vi
innsikt i relasjonen mellom beredskapshjemmet og
biologisk familie, og hvordan to informanter
opplevde å bli flyttet tilbake til biologisk far i
tidlig tenårene.
Mon, 02 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/1956/83242014-06-02T00:00:00Z